MANHATTAN — Police are investigating whether the machine gun used in the deadly Times Square shooting Thursday arrived in New York via an interstate gun trafficking ring.
The MAC-10 fired by Raymond Martinez, 25, who was shot and killed by police, was reported stolen from Richmond, Va. on Oct. 28, according the Daily News.
Police questioned the original theft report and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were interrogating Jordan Kelsey-Stewart, the woman who purchased the machine gun legally from a Powhattan, Va. gun shop, the News reported.
"Whether or not that is a legitimate theft is a matter that's being investigated," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told the paper. "We do see a pattern of people buying guns and then reporting them stolen. That may in fact be a method used here, as far as a straw purchase is concerned."
NYPD Sergeant Christopher Newsom, a 17-year veteran of the force, shot and killed Martinez in front of the Marriot Marquis after the street vendor ran from him and fired two rounds before his gun jammed, the New York Times reported.
Martinez, who rapped under the alias "Ready," held the gun sideways and parallel to the ground, a style popular in rap videos, and that caused it to "stovepipe," or jam, according to the New York Post.
There were 27 rounds left in the gun.
