Sandy Hook massacre not why gun store lost license

EAST WINDSOR, Conn., April 11 (UPI) -- The Connecticut gun store tied to the Newtown school gunman lost its license for reasons other than the high-profile shooting spree, federal documents said.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives yanked the store's license due to a long list of rules violations, although none pertained to the purchase of a pistol and an AR-15 assault rifle by the mother of the accused shooter.

The weapons were used in the slayings of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School Dec. 14. However, Riverview Gun Sales in East Windsor was dinged by the ATF for other transactions in which background checks were not carried out promptly and a known felon was allowed to buy ammunition. There were also repeated thefts from the store.

The bureau told WFSB-TV, Hartford, Conn., that revoking a gun store's license is a relatively rare occurrence, but Riverview had "committed over 500 violations" of the rules governing firearms sales.

"The large number of repeat violations demonstrates that the licensee and his employees purposefully disregarded and/or were plainly indifferent to their Gun Control Act obligations," ATF documents said.

The store's lawyer told WFSB the revocation was too harsh and the store's owner was working on a plan to bring in another ATF license holder to conduct sales.