Investigators say gun used in Truck Park bar shooting linked to straw purchase

One of the handguns used in the mass shooting at a St. Paul bar earlier this month came from a suspected straw-purchaser, according to federal court documents filed Wednesday.

In a criminal complaint, investigators say Jerome Horton bought nearly three dozen handguns from stores across the metro over the past three months. 

One of those handguns, a 9 mm semiautomatic, was recovered shortly after a shooting at the Truck Bar in downtown St. Paul on Oct. 10 that killed a 27-year-old woman and left 14 others injured.

Investigators say that handgun was one of three that Horton purchased from a Fleet Farm store in Blaine on July 31. They say Horton had purchased a total of 33 firearms dating back to last June and was regularly accompanied by other people, which can be an indication of straw purchasing, according to the criminal complaint.