"I think if any additional scrutiny needs to be paid, it's probably to ammunition sourcing online and firearms, and how those are purchased," Hoefener said in an interview with St. Louis' KMOV.
You can watch that interview here:
According to CEO Chad Weinman, who released a statement on the company's website yesterday, James Holmes placed an order through TacticalGear.com on July 2. He requested an "urban assault vest, two magazine pouches and a tactical knife," which cost him a total of $306.79, and he paid an extra $15.36 for UPS 2nd Day Air shipping to receive the gear faster. He signed for the entire order on July 5 at 1:21 Denver time.
On the company's Facebook page, officials posted a response about Holmes's choice of vendors, which has already garnered a generous amount of criticism in the comments section since it went live on Saturday. "Everyone at TacticalGear.com is shocked and appalled that the alleged shooter purchased tactical gear from us for use in this horrific attack. We process thousands of orders a day which include this type of equipment and there was nothing unusual about this particular order," reads the statement, in which the word 'tragedy' is misspelled. "We primarily serve members of the armed services and law enforcement professionals. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families of this terrible trajedy."
As critics point fingers at Tactical Gear and the company points fingers at weapons manufacturers, Weinman countered the claims against his company in his statement, which says employees have been victimized by the attention.
"We have since been inundated with countless phone calls, e-mails and interview requests," he wrote. "Much of this communication has been quite hostile and threatening in nature. We have been falsely accused of selling Mr. Holmes firearms and ammunition over the Internet illegally without conducting the mandated background checks. Some members of our customer relations team have been brought to tears by people insisting that we have 'blood on our hands.'"
In response to outcry over Hoefener's comments on gun vendors, Weinman emphasized the company's support of the right to bear arms.
"We want to set the record straight and (publicly) state that we fully support the 2nd amendment," he maintained. "The spirit of what we were trying to communicate was that tactical clothing and equipment should not be put in the same category as firearms and ammunition. Unfortunately, in some instances our choice of words were poor and misguided.... We wholeheartedly support the freedom Americans enjoy to legally purchase guns and ammunition. I personally believe that if some members of the audience had concealed carry weapons at hand that night perhaps less blood would have been shed. No amount of gun control is going to prevent a sociopath hell-bent on terrorism from hurting a large group of people."
For more information, read the RFT's full post.
Click through to read Weinman's full statement.
On July 2, 2012 TacticalGear.com received an order from James Holmes, the alleged shooter in the Colorado theater massacre. His order included an urban assault vest, two magazine pouches and a tactical knife spending a total of $306.79. Mr. Holmes elected to pay an additional $15.63 for UPS 2nd Day Air to expedite his order. We processed this order as any other, and Mr. Holmes signed for the associated package on July 5 at 2:21 p.m. local time.In the wake of the tragedy, we have done our best to cooperate with the media and law enforcement agencies by passing on any relevant information. We have since been inundated with countless phone calls, emails and interview requests. Much of this communication has been quite hostile and threatening in nature. We have been falsely accused of selling Mr. Holmes firearms and ammunition over the Internet illegally without conducting the mandated background checks. Some members of our customer relations team have been brought to tears by people insisting that we have "blood on our hands."
In an effort to combat this falsehood, myself and our Chief Operating Officer conducted a series of interviews in an attempt to clear up any misconceptions. We reiterated that TacticalGear.com primarily serves the law enforcement community and that we are proud to supply these heroes with the tools they need to keep our communities safe. During the course of these interviews, we were repeatedly questioned about what steps we were taking to prevent the general public from acquiring tactical gear in the future. In response to this line of questioning, statements were made that some have perceived as anti-gun and anti-2nd amendment.
We want to set the record straight and publically state that we fully support the 2nd amendment. The spirit of what we were trying to communicate was that tactical clothing and equipment should not be put in the same category as firearms and ammunition. Firearms and ammunition are subject to considerable regulation, and the notion that tactical gear should be as well is outrageous. Unfortunately, in some instances our choice of words were poor and misguided. For this, we accept full responsibility and sincerely apologize to anyone that took offense to these comments.
I am very proud of TacticalGear.com. It is a great company with a great staff. Each day we wake up thinking about how we can better serve our customers the gear they need when they need it. We work tirelessly to achieve these goals, and we are passionate about what we do. Many of us are avid gun owners and enthusiasts. We frequently visit the local shooting range and keep firearms in the office. We wholeheartedly support the freedom Americans enjoy to legally purchase guns and ammunition. I personally believe that if some members of the audience had concealed carry weapons at hand that night perhaps less blood would have been shed. No amount of gun control is going to prevent a sociopath hell-bent on terrorism from hurting a large group of people.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families of this horrific event. If you have any questions or comments about this issue please direct them to us via email at [email protected].
Chad Weinman CEO, TacticalGear.com
More from our Aurora Theater Shooting archive: "Aurora theater shooting: Torrence Brown Jr. first to sue over attack."
