Gun shop owner refuses to sell gun to eligible customer, possibly prevents mass shooting

An Ohio gun shop owner refused to sell a gun to a man, despite the potential customer having cleared background checks. Now some are saying that in doing so, shop owner John Downs might have foiled plans for a mass shooting.

James Howard, 25, withdrew from his classes at Ohio University last Monday and allegedly assaulted an assistant hockey coach before driving to Downs' store. Downs, however, turned him away. "Just the look in his eye... there was something about him. I don't know. You really can't explain it. He was going to do something. He was going to do something," Downs told CBS News.

Howard returned to the gun store later that same day but Downs locked the door and had a customer call 911. The police later found Howard's car with a gun in the back seat at a Walmart; Howard was in the process of purchasing almost 50 rounds of 20-gauge shot gun shell ammunition.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Hocking County Sherriff Lanny North told CBS he believed Downs' gut reaction might have saved lives. "We don't know what he may have prevented," North said.

Howard, who has a history of mental illness, is being held on $125,000 bond for the possession of a firearm while allegedly being drug dependent or in danger of becoming so, as well as for reportedly purchasing his firearm by making false statements on his background check form.