SCHENECTADY — A man who went on a shooting rampage at a Bronx hospital bought the assault rifle used in the incident at a Schenectady gun shop.
Henry Bello hid an AR-15 rifle under a lab coat and walked into the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital on Friday. There, he shot seven people, killing one and injuring six others before killing himself. Bello, who used to work at the hospital, legally purchased the gun just days before that at Upstate Guns and Ammo on State Street.
Craig Serafini, the store owner, confirmed Monday that Bello purchased the weapon in Schenectady.
“We follow all state and federal background compliance measures,” Serafini said. “Nothing leaves this store without having gone through those.”
The semi-automatic gun used in the shooting is “100 percent legal,” said Serafini, who is cooperating with law enforcement on the investigation.
The SAFE ACT defines “assault weapon” as a semi-automatic rifle with an ability to accept a detachable magazine and any military characteristic, including a protruding pistol grip, flash suppressor, muzzle brake or a folding or telescoping stock, according to the New York State Police guide to the legislation.
Police found the box for the gun in Bello’s home in the Bronx, the New York Times reported.
Law enforcement officers at the scene of a shooting at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in New York on June 30, 2017. (Uli Seit/The New York Times)
Bello reportedly had an arrest record, though he had not previously been convicted of a felony, the New York Daily News reported. Such a conviction would have kept him from legally purchasing a gun in New York state.
Bello resigned from the hospital in 2015 amid allegations of sexual harassment.
Categories: -News-, Schenectady County
