SHREVEPORT, La. (TCN) — A 56-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly providing a weapon to a person who used it during a mass shooting.
Charles Ford was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and making a false statement to federal agents, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana announced. The false statements were reportedly related to a mass shooting by U.S. Shamar Elkins, and the weapon’s role in it.
The U.S. Attorney’s office alleges Elkins shot 10 people on April 19, eight of them fatally, including his seven children. It was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States in more than two years. Following the shooting, the Shreveport Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms began a trace on the rifle used, according to the DOJ.
The original purchaser of the firearm was identified and she reportedly said she had given the weapon to Ford. According to the DOJ, Ford is a felon and not allowed to have a firearm. When interviewed by investigators, Ford allegedly lied about the weapon and later admitted that he believed Elkins took it.
According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court, KSAT reports Ford said he noticed the gun was missing from his truck on March 9. He told authorities he confronted Elkins about the missing weapon but eventually let the matter go when Elkins became “offensive.”
ATF Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson said, “Holding people accountable does not stop with the person who pulled the trigger but also includes those who give access to and proliferate firearms that are later used in violent crime.”
Elkins died after a police pursuit following the shooting, KSAT reports, but it is unclear whether he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or from being shot by officers.
“Elkins’ death means that our community will never see him face justice,” the outlet reports that U.S. Attorney Zachary Keller said. “Our hope, as we continue to investigate and prosecute this case alongside our law enforcement partners, is that holding the person whose gun Elkins used to perpetrate the crime accountable will give some small bit of solace to our Shreveport community.”
If convicted, Ford faces up to 15 years in federal prison for the firearm possession charge and up to five years for the false statement charge, per the DOJ.
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