Authorities weren’t looking for a military assault rifle when they went to investigate a domestic assault case, but they found one. It was in the garage of a Spanish-tiled home that police stumbled upon the AK-74. Its distinctively banana-shaped magazine -- loaded with 20 rounds -- was in a nearby...
Judge Overturns California’s 32-Year Ban on Assault Weapons
SACRAMENTO — A federal judge has overturned California’s three-decade-old ban on assault weapons, calling it a “failed experiment” that violates people's constitutional right to bear arms. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego ruled on Friday that the state’s definition of illegal military-style rifles unlawfully deprives law-abiding Californians of...
Canada Bans Assault-Style Weapons After Shooting Rampage
TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an immediate ban Friday on the sale and use of assault-style weapons in Canada, two weeks after a gunman killed 22 people in Nova Scotia. “Canadians need more than thoughts and prayers,” he said, rejecting the reaction of many politicians after mass shootings....
New Zealanders Hand in 50,000 Guns After Assault Weapon Ban
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand authorities said Saturday their country will be a safer place after owners handed in more than 50,000 guns during a buyback program following a ban on assault weapons. But critics say the process was flawed and many owners have illegally stashed their firearms. The...
San Diego Man Simulated Mass Shooting. Pleads Not Guilty to Charges.
SAN DIEGO — A 30-year old man from the San Diego area pleaded not guilty Monday to weapons and child abuse charges after online videos appeared to show him pointing an assault rifle and rehearsing a mass shooting from a downtown hotel room. Steve Homoki was arrested Thursday with 14...
Fresno Mass Shooting: Costa Calls for Passage of Gun Safety Bills
Rep. Jim Costa reacted to a mass shooting in Fresno that left four people dead and six others injured Sunday evening by offering his support to law enforcement and renewing a call for passage of bipartisan gun safety legislation. “It saddens me once again, to hear of another mass shooting,...
Lawsuit Challenges California's Assault Weapons Ban
SAN DIEGO — A gun-rights group sued Thursday to block California from enforcing its assault weapons ban, contending it violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms. The lawsuit was the latest among gun advocacy and lobbying groups to challenge California's firearms laws, which are among the strictest in the...
Funeral Instead of 14th Birthday for Girl Killed at Gilroy Festival
SAN JOSE — Mourners used colored markers to write messages on Keyla Salazar's white casket before a funeral Tuesday for the middle-school teenager killed in a mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. "Keyla, you're an angel. We will never forget you!" read one. Another said, "Keyla, I love you...
Gilroy Festival Killer's Motive Still a Mystery
GILROY — The 19-year-old gunman who opened fire at a Northern California food festival was "kind of a loner" and much of his life was shrouded in mystery, the FBI said Tuesday as investigators searched for a motive. Police believe Santino William Legan fired randomly Sunday, killing three people, after cutting through...
2 Killed, 3 Wounded in Fresno Assault Rifle Shooting
FRESNO — Police say a man and a woman were shot and killed over the weekend in Fresno after two men armed with an assault rifle and a handgun opened fire on their car. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Sunday five people, including three adult siblings and two teens,...