Buffalo gunman's weapon was modified to hold more ammunition — other guns were Christmas gifts

The Washington Post reports that the shooter at the Buffalo, New York grocery store modified his weapon to ensure it held more ammunition.

The man, Payton S. Gendron, used a used Bushmaster XM-15 semiautomatic rifle that he bought legally and he added a high-capacity magazine. The report revealed that Gendron openly wrote in his manifesto about the gun, noting that he got it in a small gun shop about 15 miles from his hometown, Conklin. He paid $960 he said.

"He also recounted how he acquired two backup weapons: a Mossberg 500 shotgun that he purchased in early December and a Savage Axis XP semiautomatic rifle that he received from his father as a Christmas present when he was 16 years old," said the Post.

The owner of the shop confirmed to the New York Times and ABC News that he sold the weapon to the mass shooter and that the background check raised no red flags.

Current laws only mandate that a weapon be refused if someone has been institutionalized. While Gendron was under observation in 2021, he was never placed in an institution.

“I happened to have this particular gun at this particular time,” Donald explained to ABC News. “And this particular guy happened to buy it. After the gun leaves the firearm shop, you have no control."

The report also noted that the Bushmaster XM-15 was the same weapon used in the 2002 Washington, D.C. sniper incident in which two gunmen shot 10 people in a month-long incident. In 2021, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter used the same weapon to kill 20 first-graders and six school staffers.

Read the full report in the Washington Post.