Firearm Retail Employee Saved Lives by Denying Gun Sale

Opinion
By Larry Keane

Americans love recognizing and celebrating heroes. But heroic acts aren’t always caught on camera.

There isn’t always footage to go viral on social media showing a heroic man or woman rushing in to save a child in danger or performing first aid to save a stranger’s life. Countless examples of these actions happen every day, though, and they are worthy of our praise nonetheless, without all the publicity.

That’s exactly what happened in Blue Springs, Missouri, after a firearm retailer employee followed their instinct and acted, denying the sale of an AR-15 to an individual who just seemed “off.”

It turns out the purchaser was a prohibited individual within the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and had a past criminal history of attempting – and carrying out – violent acts against innocent Americans.

The retail employee noticed odd behavior and comments by the attempted purchaser, felt like something was wrong and denied the sale of a firearm, contacting police afterwards.

This was a heroic action by the employee and undoubtedly saved who knows how many lives.

Recognized The Signs

An employee at a Blue Springs, Missouri, gun store was assisting a customer who came to purchase a firearm and the employee began recognizing some of the warning signs of what could be a potential criminal purchase. Something seemed very wrong, according to KCTV 5 News reporting.

The attempted purchaser, Beau Albauer, was acting odd and asking questions that can be noted as warning signs when something is not quite right with a legitimate and legal firearm sale. According to court documents, Albauer asked the retail employee for a “cheap firearm” and inquired about AR-15 rifles or Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs). Now asking firearm retail employees about cost and different styles and options of firearms available isn’t in itself suspicious to be sure – but it is often how those questions are asked and conversations happen that matter. In this instance, the employee had concerns.

Additionally, while asking about purchasing a firearm, Albauer reportedly “was not satisfied with the low round capacity of the magazine and began looking at a Diamondback AR15 that was partially pink,” the employee told police, noting Albauer was also not happy with the gun’s color. The gun store employee also described Albauer’s behavior as odd to police and said he did not have a current Missouri driver’s license and instead offered a Missouri fishing license and a Mississippi driver’s license.

The employee witnessed enough and proactively denied a sale. Afterwards, the gun store employee showed police the ATF Form 4473 Albauer had filled out, showing Albauer had marked a box “No” asking whether he had been convicted of a felony or any other crime. A background check run by police during investigation proved that to be false, KCTV 5s reported, leading Albauer to be charged with felony fraudulent purchase of a firearm, a Class E felony in Missouri.

It was later learned that Albauer had previously been found guilty in Memphis of driving into a “Black Lives Matter” protest in 2020. If the retailer didn’t see and act on the warning signs he observed, the FBI NICS check would have halted the sale. The detective who filed a probable cause document from this failed purchase incident stated that “due to Albauer’s criminal history of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, his actions of attempting to purchase an AR style rifle with a ‘large magazine capacity’ should be considered a public threat.”

The employee made the right decision and Albauer is now back in jail. The employee’s quick thinking and actions based on instinct undoubtedly saved lives.

Frontline Defenders

It is a simple fact: firearm retailers are the frontline defenders against criminal firearm activity. These retail employees are in communities all across the county. They serve millions of law-abiding customers every day who are seeking to exercise their Second Amendment rights. They also see firsthand the lengths that criminals will go through in order to try and purchase a firearm even though they are prohibited.

NSSF recognizes the incredible efforts firearm retailers and their employees go through to stay up on current trends of how criminals are trying to bypass the system, evade background check verifications and flat out lie to retailers all in an attempt to illegally purchase a firearm. NSSF provides firearm retailers in-person and online training in coordination with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). This continuing education happens throughout the country and at NSSF’s SHOT Show®. Three of these sessions are planned for Florida in August.

The Don’t Lie for the Other Guy™  initiative is part of NSSF’s Real Solutions. Safer Communities.® program and is a partnership with ATF, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and local law enforcement to help educate firearm retailers and their employees about the warning signs of a potential illegal “straw purchase.” The “Don’t Lie” initiative, now in its 25^th year, also reminds the public that it is a federal crime, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine, if someone attempts an illegal “straw purchase.” That’s when someone who is prohibited or doesn’t want to be associated with the purchase of a firearm tries to use someone else to lie on the ATF form in order to purchase a firearm for the other person. In the case of Albauer, he didn’t use someone else to buy the firearm for him, but the warning signs that employees learn to look for are often the same.

It is often the firearm retailer that is the front-line defense to prevent firearms from being illegally straw purchased and illegally trafficked. Peter Forcelli, former ATF executive who was also one of the Fast and Furious whistleblowers and authored a book of the experience titled The Deadly Path, said firearm retailers – and the industry at large – are “indispensable partners” in the fight against crime.

“Dealers are often the first line of defense to help identify suspicious purchases and flag possible trafficking organizations,” Forcelli wrote in an opinion column. “A partnership approach with the firearms industry is a vital component in keeping guns away from the wrong people….”

Real Solutions

The firearm industry believes deeply in our efforts to keep firearms out of the hands of those who should not possess them. For decades, the firearm industry through our “Don’t Lie” program and others, has shown real results towards making our communities safer, while also promoting lawful and responsible gun ownership. This is especially true among the millions of new, first-time gun owners.

Through education and training, the firearm industry helps retailers do the hard work on the front lines to help reduce the occurrence of these crimes. Across the country, firearm retailers and their employees make decisions that save lives. That’s what happened recently in Missouri, and it was, indeed, heroic.

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About The National Shooting Sports Foundation

NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations, and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org