There was one gun store owner who says he actually refused to sell an AR-15 to Nikolas Cruz, the Parkland school shooter:
It was between three and four months before the shooting when the owner of the Coconut Creek Pawn & Guns store said Cruz came into the store.
But he didn’t refuse to sell Cruz an AR because he was nervous looking or questionable in any way. In fact he explained that Cruz was not nervous, that he was calm and quiet.
Rather, he refused to sell it to Cruz because he doesn’t sell firearms to anyone under 21.
He said Cruz argued with him over the policy, but he told Cruz “I don’t need an 18-year-old to buy a weapon and clear out his high school with it — not if I have anything to do with it.” He explained that he tells that to all kids trying to buy a gun.
Cruz ended up leaving him a bad review online that said “Very judgmental and denied me customer service.”
After the shooting the owner said he was stunned when seeing Cruz’s face, knowing full well he’d been in his store: “I had chills coming down my spine. I said ‘thank god I didn’t sell this monster any weapon.'”