Twenty-one year old Trey Sudbrock of Indianola, Iowa is behind bars on felony terrorism charges after he tried buying a gun so he could “kill a lot of people.”
Twenty-one year old Trey Sudbrock of Indianola, Iowa is behind bars on felony terrorism charges after he allegedly tried buying a gun so he could “kill a lot of people.”
According to Warren County court documents Sudbrock was arrested and charged with domestic assault in late 2015. Less than two weeks later he was arrested for killing his girlfriend’s dog. A few weeks after that Sudbrock was arrested again, this time on charges of animal torture related to the killing of his girlfriend’s dog.
All those charges didn’t do anything to stop Sudbrock from continuing his string of violent behavior. On or around December 26th Sudbrock reached out to a roommate allegedly offering $2,000 to buy a gun from him. Court records indicate that he claimed he wanted to use the gun to “kill a lot of people.”
That responsible gun owner instantly told Sudbrock no, and contacted the local police. Court records indicate that friend “told Trey that he was to leave him and his family alone, that he wanted nothing to do with whatever Trey was involved in or was planning.” Records also show that Sudbrock reached out to several other friends trying to buy a gun.
It’s important to note that at this point Sudbrock was considered a “prohibited person,” unable to pass a NICS background check. But under Iowa law anyone privately selling a firearm must know that the buyer is not a prohibited person. This means Sudbrock’s roommate and friends deserve a HUGE pat on the back for knowing the law and contacting authorities the second they recognized what was going on.
Iowa’s 2016 legislative session begins January 11th
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It may sound strange, but this is a story that should be celebrated. Gun owners stopped a potential mass shooting in Iowa just by being good, honest citizens. Crisis averted, all thanks to some responsible gun owners doing the right thing.
Sadly, if history has taught us anything, that’s not the message that we’ll see widely reported. Any coverage will likely center around “What if…” hypotheticals and the fact that Sudbrock was trying to buy a gun. As if it was the gun that caused him to want to kill. Gun control pushers will try to spin this as another reason for more background checks, even though this is yet another example of how background checks do not stop madmen intent on hurting others. And had Sudbrock gotten a gun and carried out mass murder he’d become the anti-gunner’s new poster child. Propped up in order to make all gun owners look bad. Thankfully, he was thwarted by good guys with guns, and on top of that the anti’s don’t have another tragedy to exploit and use to in their never-ending quest for “common sense” infringements of our rights.
The difference should be clear. Pro gun, pro freedom Americans celebrate when bad guys are stopped and lives are saved. It proves our point that 99.9999999% of gun owners are good people. Meanwhile, gun control pushers wait for tragedies and lives lost in order to exploit emotion and advance their gun control agendas. It’s a case of pro-active vs re-active. Gun owners vs gun control advocates. Celebrating lives saved vs. exploiting lives lost.
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Sudbrock is behind bars unable to harm innocent civilians and that’s all thanks to alert gun owners. And at the end of the day that is the most important fact of all.
Iowa Firearms Coalition is an entirely volunteer, grassroots, Second Amendment advocacy group. Responsible for bringing uniformity to Iowa’s Concealed Weapons Permitting process, IFC’s members work to protect and enhance Second Amendment rights in Iowa. An affiliate of the National Rifle Association, the IFC actively seeks to foster and promote the shooting sports. Sign up for our email list for the latest on Second Amendment issues in Iowa. You can support our work by becoming a member, or making a donation.
A Gold Star to his ex-roomie. Buckets of BS on those he asked and didn’t report him. This a straight out nut job. The dog: if the dog didn’t die immediately, but lingered in agony for some time, then it becomes torture because of the time element, or be- cause of where the shot hit the dog and the dog continued to live, i.e. the genitals.
Aaron: if gun control background checks work, then how did he come into the possession of the gun in the first place? After seven years in Chicago 40 years ago (highest murder rate in the nation as of now), take it from me, guns are as easy to get as breathing. You need to ask the “right” people, and $2000 WILL get you a gun. There are many transactions between private parties, and rarely does the seller know why the buyer wants a gun. If the seller were a psychiatrist or psychologist or just plain very good at reading: people, they might spot the subliminal give away signs.
In the end, the scenario was pretty obviously escalating, and he either wasn’t arrested for longer than it took him to get out the door, or he made bond. I think escalating bond charges should attach to these no-contact orders: at some point he won’t make bond, and then the planned act will be held off. When you are so goofy you tell people you are going to kill somebody and attempt to make them an accomplice in the act, your IQ can’t possibly be 2 or 3 points between a rock and a stone. Only one person can keep a secret – if two or more know it’s common knowledge. Let’s hope this guy gets the max on the hardest charges he can get. They’ve got room at Fort Madison for one more murderous moron.
“Gun control pushers will try to spin this as another reason for more background checks, even though this is yet another example of how background checks do not stop madmen intent on hurting others.”
The guy couldn’t buy a gun himself because he couldn’t pass the background check. Doesn’t this mean that background checks DID stop a madman?
Shudda sold that SOB the gun, …however taken out/removed the firing pin from it first. = disabling it. Whadda stupid scumbaggur!
Wouldn’t this actually be a good case for why we need a system to perform background checks between private sellers? In this case, the guy was a complete idiot and went to a friend that knew about his background and straight up told him what he was planning on doing with the weapon. What if he had gone to Craigslist and never told the seller what he was planning on doing?
“According to Warren County court documents Sudbrock was arrested and charged with domestic assault in late 2015. Less than two weeks later he was arrested for killing his girlfriend’s dog. A few weeks after that Sudbrock was arrested again, this time on charges of animal torture related to the killing his girlfriend’s dog.”
How can he be arrested twice for the same thing?
He was actually arrested the first time for violating a no contact order. (This is when he killed the dog) He was then arrested later for the actual killing of the dog.