Was Handgun used by Middleton Workplace Attacker Homemade?

Image from WKOW

On Wednesday, 19 September, in Middleton Wisconsin, at WTS Paradigm, , a worker shot four co-workers. Three have been hospitalized and are recovering.  One was grazed, treated, and released.

Tong was killed in a shootout with police.

Anthony Y. Tong was prohibited from possessing firearms in 2004, after an incident in which he exhibited paranoia. When his home in Madison, Wisconsin, was searched, firearms parts, ammunition, and a silencer were found, according to police. From wcfcourier.com:

The search of Tong’s house at 9738 Gilded Cider Blvd. following a court-authorized, no-knock entry revealed a cache that included six ammo storage cans filled with nearly 100 boxes of ammunition of varying calibers; black powder guns, a pellet gun and a knife; three ammunition belts, multiple magazines, scopes and a silencer; ballistic vests and helmet; and more than a dozen computers. The items were scattered in three bedrooms, the basement and living room.

The ammunition and silencer listed above were illegal for Tong to possess. It is difficult to know if it is a real silencer without testing, as there are numerous fake silencers on the market.  The other items are generally not prohibited.

As a prohibited possessor, there was motivation to obtain firearms and ammunition by means other than purchase from a person with a federal firearms license.

It has been reported the 9mm pistol Tong used is difficult to trace, because it is "unique".  From apnews.com:

It’s also unclear how he acquired the pistol since he couldn’t legally purchase firearms. A search warrant unsealed Friday afternoon shows Tong had a cache of gun parts in his home, suggesting he may have built the pistol himself. Foulke said federal authorities were having trouble tracing the gun’s origin, calling the weapon “unique.” 

One reason for "unique" status would be if the firearm were home made.
 In an industrial society, firearms are not difficult to make. People have been making firearms at home for hundreds of years.

It is difficult to enforce gun control laws when the First Amendment insures that all the technical knowledge needed to make firearms is readily available.

Sophisticated firearms can be built with tools no more sophisticated than a drill, hammer, and files. Multiple sources of high quality steel are readily available.

In 1977, police in Washington, D.C. reported that one fifth of the guns they confiscated were homemade.

  Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, Analysis of Operation CUE (Concentrated Urban Enforcement), interim report 133-34 (February 15, 1977).

In countries with extreme restrictions on gun ownership, individuals or criminal enterprises often make submachine guns, which are easier to construct than semi-automatic handguns.  Homemade submachine guns are found from the Philippines to Brazil, from Israel to Canada and Australia.

It will be interesting to see if the AP reporter is correct in suggesting the handgun used by Tong was homemade.


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