Gun shop's new operator gets license

A federal firearms license has been granted to a new operator of Bull's Eye Shooter Supply, the Tacoma gun store that stocked the rifle used in last year's Beltway sniper slayings. He is a longtime friend of the previous owner, Brian Borgelt, whose dealer's license was revoked a month ago.

The new owner, Kris Kindschuh, will operate the store under the same name and at the same address, paying rent to Borgelt, who owns the building, Borgelt's lawyer said.

Borgelt, 39, will continue to own the upstairs gun range, according to lawyer James Frush.

The new license was granted by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on Friday, an agency spokesman said.

Though names of federal firearms licensees usually are public, the spokesman, Scott McKinna, yesterday would not say who had taken over Bull's Eye.

Borgelt's license was revoked for four willful violations of federal recordkeeping laws that were uncovered after the sniper rifle was traced to his store and he couldn't show to whom he had sold it, as required by law. Police rely on sales records to trace weapons used in crimes.

"The important thing is Bull's Eye Shooter Supply is open and is going to be open at the same location," Frush said.

McKinna said Borgelt's records will be transferred to ATF's out-of-business center so they can continue to be used to trace crime guns.

Kindschuh, 39, previously held a gun dealer's license under a different business name, listed in the same building that houses Bull's Eye, which is a few blocks from the Tacoma Dome.

In order to get his new license, Kindschuh had to undergo a background examination by ATF. He couldn't be reached for comment.

Frush previously complained that federal officials deliberately were delaying giving a license to Kindschuh.

Frush said the ATF tried to get Kindschuh to change the store's name and required him to fire the Bull's Eye bookkeeper.

Federal investigators audited Bull's Eye's records last fall, shortly after the .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle used in the sniper shootings was traced to the store. Neither of the suspects in the shooting, John Muhammad nor Lee Boyd Malvo, legally was allowed to purchase a rifle: Muhammad was under a domestic-violence protective order; Malvo was a juvenile.

Borgelt could not explain how the rifle got out of his store, but Malvo has told investigators he shoplifted the weapon last summer, law-enforcement sources have said.

Malvo and Muhammad are awaiting trial in the sniper shootings, which left 10 people dead and several wounded in the Washington, D.C., area last fall.

The audit last fall found that Borgelt was unable to account for 78 guns in his inventory and that his sales records were in disarray.

It came two years after a 2000 audit showed 160 missing guns.

The latest audit triggered a continuing criminal investigation into Borgelt's operation and into allegations he failed to pay federal taxes.

Bull's Eye repeatedly has displayed indicators the ATF relies on to alert it to dealers that may be illegally trafficking in guns, according to ATF records: guns stolen from inventory; having at least 10 weapons a year traced to crimes; frequently selling multiple guns to individual buyers; and short times between gun sales and their involvement in crimes.

Borgelt plans to challenge his license revocation in federal court, Frush said.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com