Gun Dealer: AK-47 No Harder to Get than Other Guns

Tony's Gun and Police Supply owner Tony Ashy says anyone over the age of 18 with a clean record can purchase a gun.

But the misconception about the gun and its intimidation factor doesn't come from dealers like him.

"People, when they hear AK-47, right away they go to what they see in the movies or on the news, spraying bullets," says Ashy.

In fact, it's illegal for anyone to own a fully automatic weapon in the United States that would spray bullets like in the movies, Ashy says.

Sumter police say Quentin Patrick, the man accused of killing T.J. Darrisaw, used a foreign style AK-47 in the shooting Friday night.

"There's a lot of black market in this business, probably somebody had the fire arm and they turned around and sold it to them," said Ashy.

To buy a gun legally, Ashy says everyone must go through the same federal background check for every gun. But, that doesn't mean that just because they past that test, he'll sell them one.

"If old or young, don't make a difference. If they behave wrong, it's up to me to decide," said Ashy. He says he's used his gut instinct a few times and didn't sell a gun to someone he thought was suspicious.

"To sell a firearm to make $50 and you know somebody is going to do something bad with it, it's not worth it," he said.

Sumter officials say Patrick has multiple convictions of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine.