[Edit 7/24/09] Lies?  Michael C. Iheme had a gun permit according to the stated source… but the records failure in the case bears scrutiny, regardless of the type of permit issued (pending verification).

A story of apparently missing background check records, a gun purchased by a dangerous individual, and fatal domestic violence in last week’s Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

Shortly after his estranged wife was shot in a St. Louis Park parking lot, Michael C. Iheme, called 911 and said, “I have killed the woman that mess my life up…. a woman that had destroyed me,” according to charges filed Friday.

Iheme, 50, was charged with first-degree, premeditated murder in the death of Anthonia E. Iheme, 28. He is being held on $1 million bail in the Hennepin County jail.

Anthonia Iheme was shot Thursday as she left work at the Sholom Home West, 3620 Phillips Pkwy., an assisted-living center. Two witnesses reported seeing a man matching Iheme’s description with a gun near his wife’s car in the parking lot.

Hennepin County court records show that she had an active harassment restraining order against Iheme. The supporting affidavit suggests a history of domestic abuse, including threats by Iheme to kill his wife. The complaint said police in Brooklyn Park, where the couple lived most recently, had a number of domestic assault calls.

…

On Thursday, Iheme was arrested at the scene and a semi-automatic handgun was found near his car, police said. Inside, police found a gun permit and Cabela’s receipt for the gun, charges said. He told arresting officers: “I called the police…. I shot her. … I shot her.”

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Why did Minnesota apparently fail to keep Mr. Iheme – who had a reported restraining order filed against him – from buying a firearm?

Even worse, how could the state allow him to hold a concealed carry permit?

According to a 2007 report, Minnesota supplied only 41% of its felony records to the Brady background check system.

Congressional testimony last year reported that in 2003, less than 50% of protection orders had been submitted to the Brady background check system nationwide. While the NCIC protection order file has grown since then, its proportion of the total is unclear, as is Minnesota’s share in particular.

What does seem clear from this report is that – like at Virginia Tech – a prohibited purchaser passed a background check because a state failed to supply his records to the system.

He bought a gun, and now a woman is dead.

ADDED: More coverage, from KARE NBC-11 (Minneapolis):

… Two witnesses say Michael Iheme walked up to his wife when she got into her car and fired two gun shots. Anthonia Iheme’s car lurched forward and hit a van before rolling down a hill. One of Anthonia Iheme’s co-workers claims she saw the defendant follow the car then fire several more shots into the vehicle.

…

Hennepin County records show a Harrassment Restraining Order taken out by Anthonia Iheme against her husband. The affidavit reveals a long history of domestic abuse and death threats. Brooklyn Park Police were also called to their home several times for domestic assaults.

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