Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The 18-year-old shooter that took the lives of 10 innocent people at the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue this past Saturday was able to commit his racially motivated hate crime with aid of tactical body armor, which included a bulletproof vest and helmet.
A former Buffalo Police officer and security guard at that Tops location, Aaron Salter, was able to fire a number of shots at the gunman during the attack, only to lose his own life when those rounds made no impact in stopping the shooter.
According to the lengthy manifestos obtained via Internet posts from the gunman, Payton Gendron, he detailed a lengthy planning process, which mentions body armor numerous times.
In New York State, one can buy body armor as long as they are not convicted of a felony, in accordance with federal law. Anyone is able to go online or buy body armor face-to-face anywhere it is sold.
Robert Geist, owner of Uncle Sam's Army Navy Outfitters of Western New York, says buying online is very different from buying in his store, because you can't really gauge the reason for purchasing when you buy online.
"Anybody can go on the Internet and buy from different manufacturers, because the internet is an open place," said Geist. "Our store builds a rapport with our clientele and our community, and we address their needs based on what is needed. But we also have very strict guidelines in our store."
According to Geist, the store predominantly sells to professionals and law enforcement agencies, who get measured for their gear. They typically guide others that are not professional away from purchasing body armor in their store.
"Someone, let's say, came in and they were interested because they saw it on the news. 'Oh, I'm interested in obtaining body armor?' Well, first of all, we're going to talk to them, and we're going to say, 'Hey, what's on your mind? What's your thoughts?' We're going to speak to them about that," Geist explained. "If they have thoughts of, 'Well, you know what, I go shopping at Tops, and I'm worried about going to shop the Tops and want to wear body armor.' Well, then we would probably guide them in this fashion of they really don't need body armor for that type of purpose. We're not going to sell it to them, but we're going to still speak to them. ... Hopefully, by the time they leave, they'll be a little bit calmer, and they won't worry about that type of concern."
In order to do that, Geist knows that it's important to teach his staff on how to properly help guide people elsewhere.
"Anyone can purchase anything, and it's all based on the strength of the training that you teach your staff. It's all based on the the strength of the training that you want to protect your community," Geist said. "There are laws that are open-ended, they're not finalized, but I think there's more people that when they have a need, they voice that opinion. If specific people come in, and there's many people that we turn away from these types of items, and we guide them to other avenues. A lot of people are afraid right now to go shop at Tops and various different places. You don't want people just putting on a bulletproof vest and walking into Tops and pushing their shopping cart. That's the wrong impression that we want to portray in this community, and in any community."
Obtaining body armor in the United States is not a complicated process under the law. The only state in the U.S. that restricts the purchase of body armor online is Connecticut.
It's hard to know what body armor regulation could look like, but provinces in Canada like Alberta, British Columbia and Nova Scotia have body armor permits, similar to gun permits, which have to be renewed annually or biannually. Violators could receive fines or jail time.
Former Buffalo Police captain, and partner with Vista Security Group, Jeff Rinaldo says it is apparent that there is a need for body armor with law enforcement agencies and other first responders. However, body armor is not for all private citizens.
"The average citizen does not necessarily have that need, other than if they're engaged in possibly a profession like a range instructor, or engage in some type of shooting competitions. Something of that nature," Rinaldo said.
Rinaldo believes it is relatively easy for people to obtain body armor. He believes there isn't any kind of background check that's performed by the person selling the gear, because if they're not selling firearms, then the average business doesn't have the proper access to background check information or NCIC data.
While there seems to be a limited number of businesses that sell tactical body armor directly to the general public, Rinaldo believes that it would be easier to regulate the sale of body armor compared to other tactical gear out there.
However, being able to define who is eligible to purchase body armor would need to be thought out.
"You cannot really purchase a firearm online. You have to do face-to-face with a Federal Firearms License dealer, or if you do attend gun shows, the people selling weapons have to obtain a background check on the purchaser before they do so. So if you were to regulate body armor similarly, then you would have a much better opportunity to, at least, ensure who you sold that armor to and who the purchaser was."
So what happens if there are regulations that were to be put in place for the sales and purchasing of tactical body armor?
"If you had body armor regulated, it would possibly do a better job of keeping it out of the hands of people that shouldn't have it," Rinaldo said. "But as we saw in this case this past week, this individual was not a convicted felon, so there would have been no highlight, apparently, that would have made the seller of that item potentially not sell it to him."
Hear more of our conversation with Rinaldo in the player below:
