There are reports he obtained it in a private sale, the details are not clear.
Via Daily Wire:
A man who killed seven innocents in Odessa, Texas, over the weekend was barred from legally obtaining a firearm because he was deemed mentally unfit, law enforcement officials revealed to The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
The shooter, who will not be named per Daily Wire policy, was denied a weapon in 2014 after failing a background check in Texas. He then bypassed the gun control measure and obtained a gun illegally sometime before his shooting rampage, though it is unclear how exactly it was obtained.
“The gunman had tried to buy a gun in January 2014 but failed because a nationwide criminal background check system flagged the mental health determination by a local court and prevented the purchase, according to the officials,” the report said, noting that “[f]ederal law bars individuals who have been found to be mentally unfit from purchasing or owning guns. Records of the gunman’s mental health ruling would have been submitted to an FBI database (the National Instant Criminal Background Check System) used to check the backgrounds of prospective gun buyers.”
It remains unclear which illegal route the shooter went to obtain the firearm he used to shoot over two dozen people, including a 17-month-old baby.