Assault weapon in hospital shooting was 'lawfully transferred': ATF

By MICHAEL EDISON HAYDEN • Jul 3, 2017, 4:55 PM ET

The assault rifle used by a doctor to kill one and injure several others in a New York City hospital last Friday was "lawfully transferred" to the shooter from a gun shop in upstate New York, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Law enforcement sources said Dr. Henry Bello hid the gun -- identified by law enforcement sources as an AR-15 -- under his white lab coat and then opened fire in Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, where he used to work. He then tried to set himself on fire and fatally shot himself, the sources said.

Matthew Myerson, acting spokesman for the ATF, told ABC News that while the gun was "lawfully transferred," an investigation into Bello, as well as the purchase of the weapon, is ongoing. He would not elaborate.

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a ban on assault weapons into law in January 2013, following the Sandy Hook school shooting.

The law, known as the SAFE Act, tightened the definition of assault weapons as used by New York State, but it was not clear how the AR-15 was transferred to Bello.

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