Authorities believe the gun used in the drive-by
shooting in Midland and Odessa,
Texas on Saturday was illegally manufactured and sold by a Lubbock, Texas man, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is currently investigating a man who they believe illegally manufactured and sold the AR-15-style rifle that Seth Ator used to kill seven people and injure 22 more on Saturday, before he was shot and killed by police.Ator, 36, had previously attempted to purchase a gun from a licensed seller in January 2014, but failed the requisite background check because he'd been declared mentally unfit by a local court. A nationwide criminal-background check identified the court order and prevented the purchase, according to local authorities.If Ator did in fact purchase the weapon through a private transaction, its seller was under no obligation to conduct a background check, but could be held criminally liable if evidence emerges that he knew his prospective customer came to him due to a previous background-check failure.Authorities intercepted Ator outside of a movie theater, killing him only after he rampaged down a highway that links Midland and Odessa shooting indiscriminately.Partisan tensions over gun-control legislation have escalated in recent weeks following separate mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. Congressional
Democrats continue to insist on universal-background-check legislation that would apply to private sales, a version of which passed the House earlier this year.Republicans, meanwhile, remain non-committal as
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell refuses to endorse specific legislation.