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The federal government has stepped up its scrutiny of gun stores that sell guns used in crimes, with the number of stores singled out more than doubling in the past four years. Which gun stores sell the most crime guns has been kept secret for more than two decades, since 2003 under the George W. Bush administration. But a Freedom of Information Act request from USA TODAY unearthed a glimpse of them and showed that the vast majority of guns used in crimes are sold by a small fraction of America’s gun shops. Among the more than 1,300 outlets targeted in 2023 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are many of the largest sellers – Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, Rural King and Sportsman’s Warehouse – along with some less well-known stores, such as Town Guns in Richmond, Virginia, and Ammo Bros in Ontario, California. (Penzenstadler, 2/15)

Missouri’s firearms laws, a gun rights fortress that protects concealed weapons and seeks to limit federal law enforcement, was built over the years by state lawmakers brick by brick. Across Missouri, lawmakers, local officials, members of the public and even Chiefs players themselves are now wondering whether the fortress has any vulnerabilities. (Bayless, Shorman and Bernard, 2/15)

Thousands of fans flocked to Union Station for the 2024 Chiefs Super Bowl rally in Kansas City, ready to celebrate the team’s victory. But the day turned bloody as shots rang out, killing a radio host and mother of two, and injuring at least 23 other parade goers. (Nash, 2/15)

Across the country, Americans were shocked and horrified by the images on Wednesday from Kansas City, Mo., after shots were fired into a crowd of jubilant parade-goers celebrating the city’s Super Bowl win. To people intimately aware of the entrenched violence in Kansas City, the shooting was painfully familiar. There were 182 people killed in Kansas City last year, according to police data, surpassing a previous high in 2020. With a population of just over 500,000, Kansas City has one of the highest murder rates in the nation. (Draper and Bosman, 2/16)

The authorities in Kansas City, Mo., said on Thursday that they were keeping two teenagers in custody after a shooting that tore through the city’s Super Bowl celebration, killing one person and wounding nearly two dozen others in what appeared to be the result of an argument. Stacey Graves, the city’s police chief, said at least 22 people were wounded in the shooting on Wednesday, in addition to the person who died, and that the victims ranged in age from 8 to 47 years old. At least half of the wounded were younger than 16.The police said they had initially taken three young people into custody but released one of them after determining that the person was not involved. (Bogel-Burroughs, Fortin, Draper and Edmonds, 2/15)

Amid a documented history of criminal activity and mental health struggles, the woman who opened fire at Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch with her son in tow appeared to have no difficulties in one area: buying guns. In the attack Sunday, Genesse Moreno used an AR-15-style rifle that was purchased legally in December, officials said. She was also armed with a .22-caliber rifle. But court records suggest Moreno, 36, had owned at least four other firearms that had been confiscated over the past four years. (Gamboa and Ortiz, 2/15)