A Texas-based company is revolutionizing ammunition sales with the introduction of vending machines in grocery stores across multiple states. American Rounds, headquartered in Richardson, Texas, has installed computerized "automated retail machines" that dispense ammunition in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas, NBC Dallas reports.

The company launched its first machine in Alabama in November 2023 and has since expanded to eight locations across four states. Magers claims the demand is surging, with over 200 stores currently on a waiting list for installations.

The machines employ advanced technology to ensure compliance with age restrictions and identification requirements. Customers must first verify their ID using a scanner similar to those used by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The system checks that buyers are at least 21 years old, which is a standard requirement at all locations. Federal law requires individuals to be 18 to purchase shotgun and rifle ammunition and 21 for handgun ammunition.

The purchasing process involves several steps, including facial recognition software to confirm that the buyer matches the ID presented. After completing the transaction, the ammunition is dispensed from the machine.

American Rounds kiosks
CEO Grant Magers pic.twitter.com/eoNpzPIguz

— Truthseeker (@Xx17965797N) July 10, 2024

 While American Rounds touts the safety features of their system, the concept has faced criticism from gun safety advocates. A senior vice president for Everytown for Gun Safety expressed concerns in a statement to NBC Dallas, saying, "Innovations that make ammunition sales more secure via facial recognition, age verification, and the tracking of serial sales are promising safety measures that belong in gun stores, not in the place where you buy your kids milk."

Grant Magers, CEO of American Rounds, defends the technology, arguing that it enforces stricter ID verification compared to online or off-the-shelf purchases. "It's the safest, most secure method of ammunition sales on the market, and it completely maintains the integrity of the Second Amendment," he told NBC Dallas. "We don't store the consumer's data, we don't take their ID or their facial, it's not stored on any cloud."

The concept of vending machines for age-restricted products is not entirely new. Similar technologies have been developed for selling alcoholic beverages and cannabis products in states where marijuana is legal. Additionally, a Pennsylvania police officer created a company about 12 years ago that places bullet-vending machines in private gun clubs and ranges.

American Rounds' machines are primarily located in rural communities where access to ammunition retailers may be limited. The machines can be found in Super C Mart and Fresh Value grocery stores in small cities such as Pell City, Alabama, and Noble, Oklahoma.

The introduction of these vending machines comes amid ongoing concerns about gun violence in the United States. According to a database maintained by The Associated Press, USA Today, and Northeastern University, there have been 15 mass killings involving firearms so far in 2024, compared to 39 in 2023.

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The state of Pennsylvania will allocate $6.6 million in funding to redevelop the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, where in 2018 a gunman murdered 11 worshippers and wounded six others in the worst antisemitic attack in US history.

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Governor Tom Wolf made the announcement at a press conference on Monday outside of the congregation in the city's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, calling the contribution for the renovation a "Hanukkah present" on the final day of the holiday.

"Tree of Life is undertaking a project to remember the past, to inform the present, and promote healing for the future," Wolf said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "And I am so proud to support the communities' efforts to reimagine this space, to create a welcoming place for residents, for visitors in Pittsburgh to reflect, and to learn, and to grow."

The money will be used to renovate the main sanctuary and replace the chapel, where the victims were killed on Oct. 27, 2018 when the suspect in the shooting, Robert Bowers, burst into the synagogue shouting "all Jews must die" as he opened fire, according to police.

The synagogue also plans to build a memorial garden to the 11 victims.

Bowers, who pleaded not guilty, is facing dozens of federal and state charges, including capital crimes and hate crimes.

i24NEWS contributed to this report

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A student opened fire at a university in the Russian city of Perm on Monday, killing at least eight people and wounding several, law enforcement said.

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The gunman was himself killed after the shootings at Perm State University, around 1,300 km (800 miles) east of Moscow, Natalia Pechishcheva, a university spokesperson, said.

"He was liquidated," she said. Footage from the scene showed his prone body on the ground outside.

Earlier media footage from the scene showed students jumping from first-floor windows to escape the building, landing heavily on the ground before running to safety.

Students built barricades out of chairs to stop the shooter from entering their classrooms, they said.

The gunman was identified as a student at the university, the Investigative Committee, that handles probes into major crimes, said.

"There were about 60 people in the classroom. We closed the door and barricaded it with chairs," student Semyon Karyakin told Reuters.

Local media identified the gunman as an 18-year-old student who had earlier posted a social media photo of himself posing with a rifle, helmet and ammunition.

"I've thought about this for a long time, it's been years and I realised the time had come to do what I dreamt of," he said on a social media account attributed to him that was later taken down.

He indicated his actions had nothing to do with politics or religion but were motivated by hatred.

Russia has strict restrictions on civilian firearm ownership, but some categories of guns are available for purchase for hunting, self-defense or sport, once would-be owners have passed tests and met other requirements.

The shootings were the latest in a series.

Earlier this year a lone teenage gunman opened fire at a school in the city of Kazan in May, killing nine people and wounding many more.

That was Russia's deadliest school shooting since 2018 when a student at a college in Russian-annexed Crimea killed 20 people before turning his gun on himself.

Russia raised the legal age for buying firearms from 18 to 21 after the Kazan shooting, but the new law has yet to come into force.

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The son of a couple killed in a Pittsburgh synagogue attack that killed 11 worshippers is suing the National Rifle Association, arguing the group's inflammatory rhetoric led to the violence.

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Marc Simon, the son of Sylvan and Bernice Simon, filed the wrongful death lawsuit Thursday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court against the NRA, the gun maker Colt's Manufacturing Co., and accused shooter, Robert Bowers, news outlets reported. Colt manufactured the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle allegedly used by Bowers.

A fourth defendant is the unknown business that sold Bowers the gun.

Bowers is charged with killing 11 congregants at the Tree of Life synagogue in the deadliest attack on Jews in US history. Police said the former truck driver expressed hatred of Jews during and after the October 2018 rampage."Bowers was not born fearing and hating Jews," the suit claims. "The gun lobby taught him to do that."

Bowers has pleaded not guilty. No trial date has been set, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

The plaintiff argues gun lobbyists like the NRA radicalized people with "mendacious white supremacist conspiracy theories." The lawsuit also says Colt could have prevented the AR-15 from "bump firing," or using a modification that allows the rifle to fire more rapidly.

An NRA spokesperson declined comment on the lawsuit. The group filed for bankruptcy last week, and the claims against them in Simon's lawsuit will be stayed as a result of the group's reorganizing.

Colt did not respond to request for comment. Besides a wrongful death claim, the complaint accuses Colt of product liability and says the gun is more akin to a military-style weapon than a civilian product.

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The suspect, identified as Stephan B., is accused of murder on two counts and attempted murder in nine cases, prosecutors told reporters ahead of the trial, which is scheduled to start on Tuesday.

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The prosecutors added that the suspect had confessed to the crimes during their investigations.

After failing to enter the synagogue, the suspect fatally shot a woman passing by and a man inside a nearby kebab shop. The attacker live-streamed his attack.

Interior Minster Horst Seehofer said in May that the number of anti-Semitic crimes committed in Germany rose by 13% last year, laying the blame on right-wing radicals.

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State and federal law enforcement officials revealed details about the months leading up to the shootings by David Anderson and Francine Graham, a couple who expressed hatred of Jews and law enforcement in notes left at the grocery shooting scene and in online posts.

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"This was a senseless and cowardly act," US Attorney Craig Carpenito said.

Anderson, 47, and Graham, 50, shot and killed Jersey City Detective Joseph Seals in a chance meeting in a cemetery Dec. 10, then drove to the market and killed Mindel Ferencz, 31, who owned the store with her husband; Moshe Deutsch, 24, a rabbinical student from Brooklyn who was shopping there; and store employee Douglas Miguel Rodriguez.

Rodriguez held the back door open for a wounded customer to escape before he was shot, authorities said Monday.

Video: Reuters

Five weapons and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were found in the store afterward. Investigators also found a bomb in the couple's van that could have sprayed shrapnel fragments "five football fields long," Gregory Ehrie, special agent in charge of the FBI in Newark, said. The van also contained materials that could have made a second bomb, he said.

It's not known for certain what prompted the confrontation between Seals and the shooters. Officials speculated that Seals, a 13-year veteran who was meeting someone about returning a car that had been impounded, may have stopped the U-Haul van Anderson and Graham were driving because it fit the description of a vehicle connected to the slaying of a livery car driver in Bayonne a few days earlier.

In doing so, Seals may have thrown off their plans and prevented more bloodshed, Carpenito said, but he did not provide more detail.

Anderson and Graham bludgeoned and then shot the livery driver Michael Rumberger, 34, officials said, though it wasn't clear if he had been targeted. The pair also had done online research on a Jewish center in nearby Bayonne in the days before the attack in Jersey City, Carpenito said.

Barricaded in the kosher store, Anderson and Graham were killed after a lengthy gun battle with the police that sent the sound of gunfire booming for hours through the neighborhood in New Jersey's second-largest city, across the street from a school.

A gun recovered at the kosher grocery that was used by Anderson and Graham to kill Rumberger also was used to shoot out the windows of a car driven by a hassidic man on a highway near Jersey City, the investigation revealed. That man was not injured.

That shooting wasn't reported until investigators began probing the market shootings.

"Up until the attack, there wasn't anything that would have put either of them on anybody's radar," Ehrie said.

But surveillance video showed Anderson and Graham had driven past the market in their rented U-Haul van twice in the week leading up to the shootings, Carpenito said.

At the scene, a note found on Anderson contained a reference to a 1990s documentary, "The FBI's War on Black America," which explored the FBI's targeting of individuals involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, Carpenito said. He added that a timestamp written on the note corresponded to a segment in the documentary where an interviewee advocates killing "fascist pig cops."

Investigators found among Anderson's social media posts a reference to Jews as "imposters who inhabited synagogues of Satan."

Anderson received about $560 per month as a military veteran and may have sold property and a van to make money, officials said, but investigators have found no evidence he received outside assistance to purchase weapons or bomb-making materials.

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Under the proposal, Eva Drive would become Lori Lynn Lane. It is located near where the 60-year-old congregant lived with her husband, Dr. Howard Kaye, about a mile from the synagogue.

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Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said that people associated with Chabad approached the city to propose the street-name change.

"They did all the groundwork, and our team got the obstacles out of the way," he said. "It should have unanimous and enthusiastic support."

Three people, including senior Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, were wounded on April 27 when lone gunman John Earnest shot at worshippers during Shabbat-morning services.

Earnest has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges, including 113 federal hate crime-related counts.

If convicted of the murder charge, the 20-year-old could face the death penalty, though prosecutors haven't said what sentence they would seek.

He is scheduled to be back in court on Dec. 5 for a status hearing, at which time a trial date will likely be set.

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Jewish Agency chair Isaac Herzog lit a memorial candle in memory of those murdered in the shooting – the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American Jewish history.

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"B'chol dor va dor ('in every generation'), there are challenges for each generation. What strikes me is that some of our challenges today are similar to those of 90 years ago. Anti-Semitism, divisiveness among the Jewish people. … We cannot put our heads in the sand. We have challenges we must meet. We must also build the future," he told those gathered.

Among hundreds of other communal leaders at the meeting who stood for a moment of silence were Jewish Agency board chair Michael Siegel, and Pittsburgh community leader and chair of United Israel Appeal Cindy Shapira.

Shapira told the gathering of global Jewish leaders: "What happened after the attack is testimony to the resilience of the Jewish community, as well as the community at large. We remember and repair together."

She explained that she chose to be at the board of governors in Jerusalem and miss the numerous commemorative events in her hometown of Pittsburgh to focus on the resilience of Jews everywhere, saying: "I'm here at this meeting because the Jewish Agency and leadership of Jewish people around the world are in a focused mission to connect the Jewish people to each other and to Israel, security all over the world and bring those to the homeland who want to be here."

Tens of thousands of people around the world will "pause with Pittsburgh" and receive a text message on Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, calling for a moment of silence and naming the 11 Jewish worshippers who lost their lives.

In a powerful show of unity and collective remembrance, she noted, tens of thousands of people worldwide will "pause with Pittsburgh" and receive a text message on Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, calling for a moment of silence and containing a video with a mourning prayer, the names of the 11 Jewish worshippers who lost their lives, a link to virtually join Pittsburgh's local service and the opportunity to share a message of solidarity by text.

Also speaking of her experiences in Pittsburgh in the weeks following the attack, young Israeli emissary Hadar Maravent spoke on a panel at the opening ceremony with other shinshinim (emissaries who defer their army service to work in a Jewish Diaspora community for a year). She recalled working with teenagers in the aftermath, bringing her own experiences of terror attacks in Israel.

"People felt comfortable reaching out to me partly because I'm Israeli and [moving on from anti-Semitic attacks] is familiar to me in a way," she told JNS.

"We talked about anger, frustration and sadness," she said. "I wasn't just a guest in the community; I was there because I needed to be there for the teens and families that hosted me, sharing a message of hope, and that we are stronger together."

Herzog, who met Hadar in Pittsburgh a few days after the massacre, told the leaders gathered that nurturing the future of the Jewish people and promoting the shlichut (sending) of young Israeli leaders will "bring the voice of the Jewish world" back to impact Israel.

As part of the board of governors meeting, the Jewish Agency will approve its new strategic plan, which seeks to tackle the major challenges facing Jewish communities in the coming decade.

According to that plan, Herzog told JNS, the Jewish Agency will "focus our operations on connecting all the geographies within the global Jewish community, with the core strategy coming from the need to address the challenges of the Jewish world, such as divides within the Jewish people, the challenge of anti-Semitism and the security of Jewish community infrastructure around the world."

"Putting forward the idea of a new operational structure will give a platform for local partnerships that have the ability to connect Jews all over the world not only to Israel, but between themselves as well," he said.

In addition, Herzog noted that his organization will continue to focus on encouraging aliyah.

It will also focus on educating Israelis through work with its government agencies to more effectively "listen to the voice of Diaspora Jewry" and assume a major role in more effectively supporting them.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org

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Hanson Larkin, 25, was in an Orlando federal court the same day, charged with making threats through interstate communication to, according to police, a Jewish man that included: "If meeting me for five seconds is not worth the lives of multiple Jews then I have no other option" and "There's a Chabad near me. And Amtrak has no security for weapons. Don't make me make a choice they'll regret."

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A Jewish man, Lizardo Rivas, 44, allegedly rejected romantic advances from Larkin and notified authorities of the threats.

Rivas said he has communicated with Larkin for two years, and that the suspect has expressed bigotry toward Jews and had suicidal thoughts.

Larkin appeared in court again on Tuesday and was denied bail. He could face up to five years behind bars if convicted.

Also on Friday, a 45-year-old man in Daytona Beach, Fla., was charged with making threats, including against Jews.

Leo Arong Jr. posted the threats as comments on YouTube during a livestream of "PBS NewsHour." They included, "I hate jews because I am an inbred LOSER. We have to kill jews in order for LOSERS like me to feel relevant. Thank you."

He was charged with making written threats to kill or harm people related to a mass shooting or act of terrorism and was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail. He was denied bail.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Added into the mix is the multibillion-dollar entertainment industry that glorifies gun violence. This includes countless action and suspense movies, murder-mystery television series and first-person video games in which players for hours on end, day after day, "shoot to kill" as many enemies as possible in realistic computer-animated settings. This poisonous entertainment is proving to be an extremely well-funded and perpetual soft source of incitement.

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On top of that is a growing epidemic of mental illness in the United States, as well as the frequent prescribing of anti-depression medications that have too often been known to have dangerous side effects, including suicidal thoughts and violent tendencies.

In many mass shootings incidents in the United States in recent years, multiple factors blended into a dangerous cocktail that has led individuals to commit the most heinous act any human could commit: the intentional murder of innocent victims.

While some of the recent perpetrators have been "white nationalists," others have been jihadists, while others have been youth or other unsuspecting individuals that for one reason or another – or a combination of reasons – have simply snapped.

Israel, too, has seen its share of gun violence in the past several decades, in the form of nationalistic terrorism.

The perpetrators of this terrorism are almost exclusively Palestinians who have been regularly incited – in the more classic forms of incitement – by textbooks, television, social media and speeches by political and religious leaders that glorify and call for the murder of Jews. Much of this incitement is well-documented by organizations, including Palestinian Media Watch and Middle East Media Research Institute.

With rare exceptions, Jews in Israel – or in the United States, for that matter – are not prone to gun violence. (In Israel each year there are isolated cases of mafia-related violence. And while equally heinous and inexcusable, this violence tends not to be indiscriminate like the current trend of mass shootings or Palestinian terrorism.)

While Israel does not offer its citizens any "right to bear arms" within its framework of basic laws, guns are commonplace and part of the culture in Israel. With mandatory conscription, most Israelis have handled automatic weapons while serving in the military. Soldiers, including those who are off-duty, are often seen across the country carrying machine guns, while thousands of Israelis carry personal handguns.

A high percentage, if not a majority of terrorists who are caught in the act of, or attempting to commit murder, are neutralized by private citizens carrying weapons. During times of elevated terrorism, Israeli leaders including former Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat have called on citizens owning weapons to carry them.

While many Israelis have weapons, they are not available to everyone and anyone. To receive a gun license, one must meet several criteria. First, an individual must live or work in a geographic area deemed to pose a higher terror risk, such as Israeli citizens living in Judea and Samaria or close to Arab villages with a history of producing terrorists.

Next, a doctor, usually a general practitioner who has been treating an individual for many years, must complete a detailed health evaluation certifying that the applicant is both physically capable and mentally stable enough to carry a weapon. An applicant also needs to complete a shooting course with a certified instructor and demonstrate sufficient mastery of handling and shooting a weapon. Before a license is granted, a detailed security check is performed on applicants by Israeli authorities.

Once granted, a license then permits an individual to own and carry a single handgun, and the specific weapon purchased by the gun owner is embedded in the license. Only the licensee may use that specific pistol. If the individual wishes to change handguns, the license must be amended. Furthermore, the license permits the gun owner to store a maximum of 50 bullets at any given time. A licensed owner may carry a weapon exposed (open carry) or concealed without limitation.

The license must be renewed every two years and requires periodic shooting instruction and proof of proficiency. Anyone carrying a weapon must be able to present their license at any time.

Private citizens are not allowed to own assault weapons, which are only carried by military personnel with army-issued weapons and ammunition.

The rules of engagement are extremely strict and limited to life-threatening situations. If a terrorist is coming toward any individual with a weapon, a licensed private citizen may shoot. If the terrorist is no longer in possession of the attack weapon, a licensed private citizen or soldier could go to jail for firing a shot, even if the attacker was in the act of attempted murder just seconds earlier.

Unlike in the United States, a licensed gun owner may not shoot at a burglar or trespasser on private property unless there is a demonstrated immediate threat to the life of anyone on the property.

In addition to private citizens carrying weapons, uniformed and armed security guards, as well as metal detectors, are commonplace at the entrances of major shopping centers, schools, public offices, and institutions, as well as in places of organized public gatherings.

It is both socially acceptable and religiously permissible for synagogue congregants to carry weapons during services, including on Shabbat.

And while the presence of armed private citizens and security guards cannot eliminate the threat of attacks (nor are they in every vulnerable location), these critical measures significantly limit the number of potential victims during an attack. Most perpetrators are neutralized within the very first minute after a terrorist attack begins.

So as Americans seek to understand the nature of increasing gun violence in the United States, it is crucial to understand the dangerous combination of causes that lead to this deadly and horrific phenomenon, beyond common political attacks.

It also may be useful to look to Israel, which has significant experience dealing with terrorist attacks, for ways to control access to guns by those who are unlikely to respect their civilian purpose: to defend and not to take lives. American shopping centers and institutions across the country may have little choice but to emulate Israel in employing armed security to prevent shooters who have gone mad from attacking mass victims.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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