Gun Distributor Warns That Brooklyn Gun Manufacturer Henry Repeating Arms Company May Have Shipped Rifles For Sale Loaded With Ammunition

Suspected Rifles May Include 'Youth' Rifles for Children

Washington, DC—According to an "Urgent Notice" for gun dealers issued by firearms distributor Sports South, Inc., Brooklyn rifle manufacturer Henry Repeating Arms may have shipped rifles for sale loaded with ammunition. The warning (http://www.vpc.org/henry.htm) was posted on the distributor's web site (http://www.sportssouthinc.com) up until Wednesday, April 2, and stated:

"URGENT ATTENTION REQUIRED!!!!

We have been notified by Henry Repeating Arms that some rifles may have been shipped by them loaded with ammunition. If you have any Henry Rifles in inventory they must be inspected to make sure they do not contain ammunition. Also, please inspect any incoming Henry Rifles. This does not relate to a specific model or date. Each gun in your inventory must be checked for ammunition. Henry Repeating Arms apologizes for any inconvenience that this may cause."

The warning has recently been removed. No mention of the possibly loaded rifles is made on the Henry Repeating Arms web site (http://www.henryrepeating.com) which promotes some of its rifle lines as "youth" rifles for children.

Andy Pelosi, executive director of New York-based GunFreeKids.org, states, "Henry Repeating Arms should move swiftly to make the general public aware of the threat posed by these loaded guns. An 'apology' for any 'inconvenience' to gun dealers is inadequate. State and local authorities need to know how this occurred and what steps may be necessary to prevent future incidents.

Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center adds, "The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives should move immediately to identify any federal laws or regulations that have been violated while doing everything in its power to make sure that each and every one of these guns is identified and that proper safeguards are put in place to ensure that such a public safety threat is never again repeated."

The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.