Salt Lake police investigating 3 who owned gun before Talovic

Federal charges could be screened as early as next week against several people who possessed the .38-caliber handgun that Sulejman Talovic used in his killing spree at the Trolley Square mall Feb. 12.

Three people are under investigation by Salt Lake City police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their possession of the handgun that eventually found its way into Talovic's hands.

"We have no reason to believe that any of the people that were involved in helping Talovic procure the handgun knew or were involved in any way in the actual shootings in Trolley Square," said Salt Lake City Police detective Jeff Bedard.

The three are not in custody and were still being interviewed, he said Thursday.

Bedard said the Salt Lake City Police Department may ask federal prosecutors to seek a grand jury indictment. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah is anxious to see the findings of the ATF's investigation.

"We would certainly look very closely at any violations of federal gun laws," U.S. Attorney's spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch said Thursday. "If there are charges that could be filed, we would certainly be looking at those."

ATF agents have said Talovic legally purchased the .12-gauge shotgun about five weeks after his 18th birthday. The .38-caliber handgun had initially been purchased out of state. It was then stolen and changed hands several times.

Police refused to say if Talovic was given the gun or if he bought it from someone.

"It was a stolen firearm. How it got to him — ultimately, that's stuff that will just have to come out later," Bedard said.

Talovic had the handgun for at least seven months prior to the mall massacre, police said.

Armed with a .12 gauge pump action shotgun, the .38-caliber handgun, a backpack full of ammunition and a bandolier of shotgun shells around his waist, Talovic opened fire on people at the crowded Trolley Square mall on the night of Feb. 12.

In an interview with the Deseret Morning News earlier this month, Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank said that in three minutes, Talovic had killed five people and wounded four others.