NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – The New York Attorney General is leading a coalition of 20 state attorney generals calling on the federal government to investigate reports that a federally funded contractor produced military-grade ammunition and sold it to civilians, officials announced on Wednesday.
In a letter addressed to the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, New York Attorney General Letitia James and the coalition request an investigation into a facility that produced billions of rounds of ammunition that were sold to civilians, including perpetrators of mass shootings.
The aforementioned facility, Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, is operated by a private contractor and overseen by the U.S. Army.
One of the nation’s biggest military ammunition manufacturers, the plant is able to produce 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition annually.
According to the coalition, Lake City rounds have been used in a variety of mass shooting events, including mass shootings in Buffalo, Parkland, Pittsburgh and Uvalde.
The coalition is requesting that federal officials investigate the reports; issue a public release with the results of the investigation and strategies to keep military-grade ammunition from civilians; and ensure future military production contracts ban the sale of military-subsidized weapons and ammunition to the public.
“Military-grade weapons and ammunition do not belong in our homes or in our communities,” James said. “Ammunition made at Lake City has been used to kill American civilians in devastating recent mass shootings, including the Tops Supermarket massacre in Buffalo. The continued sale of this ammunition on the private market puts everyone at risk.”