Fleet Farm flagged by ATF for selling guns used in crimes

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - A popular sporting goods retailer currently being sued by the State of Minnesota for not doing enough to stop illegal straw purchases, has also been flagged multiple times by federal authorities after a high number of guns used in crimes were traced back to several of its stores, according to federal records. 

What we know

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) records reveal six different Fleet Farm locations across the Midwest, including ones in Brooklyn Park and Oakdale, were flagged after tracing a high number of crime guns to each store.

The records, known as demand letters, indicate at least 25 crime guns were traced to each location. 

Fleet Farm locations flagged by the ATF after tracing guns tied to crime. (FOX 9 / FOX 9)

"[Fleet Farm is] in this small percentage of gun dealers – less than 2% – that are selling the most guns recovered in a crime with a short time-to-crime," said Josh Scharff, legal counsel for Brady, a nonprofit that is researching the pipeline from licensed firearms dealers to crime scenes.

The nonprofit shared with the FOX 9 Investigators the ATF demand letters issued to Fleet Farm, which it obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. 

"Those guns are likely to have been sold, with the intent by the purchaser to be trafficked or used in a crime itself."

Fleet Farm said in a statement that receiving a "Demand 2 Letter does not mean that a retailer has done anything wrong nor is it an indication that a firearm was purchased unlawfully."

The corporation also said it is "committed to meeting or exceeding all requirements relating to the sale of firearms."

Why it matters 

A loaded 9mm Glock was discovered by a 6-year-old boy in the front yard of his Minneapolis home after police say it was likely discarded following an overnight shooting in September 2021. 

Court records reveal the firearm was purchased at the Fleet Farm store in Brooklyn Park through a straw purchase – which is where someone buys a gun for someone else, especially for a person not allowed to possess one. 

Body camera footage obtained by the FOX 9 Investigators shows the moment the gun was collected by police at which point the officer noticed there was a bullet in the chamber. 

"It could have been so much worse," said Michael Norseng, the boy’s father. "We’re very thankful that our child had the wherewithal to tell us about it but the outcome could have been tragic." 

Federal records reveal the same Fleet Farm store that sold that gun has also been flagged multiple times by the ATF after the agency traced a high number of crime guns to the store.  

The backstory

Attorney General Keith Ellison filed Minnesota’s lawsuit against Fleet Farm in 2022 – a year after the mass shooting at the Truck Park Bar in downtown St. Paul where 14 people were injured and 27-year-old Marquisha Wiley was killed. 

The ATF later traced one of the guns used in the deadly shootout back to now-convicted straw purchaser Jerome Horton Jr.

Horton Jr. illegally bought 33 firearms, including 24 guns from Fleet Farm locations.  

The attorney general’s lawsuit claims Fleet Farm contributed to gun trafficking and crime in Minnesota when it disregarded "blatant warning signs," including multiple purchases of similar handguns, buying sprees, and staggered visits to different locations.

"They ignored them and sold guns to gun traffickers, and some of those guns hurt people," Ellison said. 

Fleet Farm would not comment on pending litigation, but in court filings, the company denied the allegations in Minnesota’s lawsuit.

Ellison told the FOX 9 Investigators it "doesn’t surprise" him that Fleet Farm has been flagged by the ATF for having guns show up at crime scenes.

While Ellison would not say how it could play into ongoing litigation, he did say "It doesn’t help Fleet Farm."