How did Todd Kohlhepp acquire guns? 'Good question'

The FBI says Todd Kohlhepp hasn’t had a background check for a firearm.

As a convicted felon who was on the sex offender registry, Kohlhepp should not own a gun. But authorities said they have found numerous weapons, including 9mm handguns with silencers, assault rifles, and an "unbelievable" amount of ammunition on his property.

Don Wood, a spokesman for the FBI in South Carolina, said those guns apparently did not come from a licensed firearms dealer, which would require a background check.

“The FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) does not have a record for the name Todd Christopher Kohlhepp in relation to a purchase of a firearm,” he said in a statement to The Greenville News Tuesday afternoon. “That is to say, it does not appear his name was presented to NICS for a background check by a federal firearms licensee.”

Todd Kohlhepp: Timeline of events

For many who buy guns, they go to a local gun store and prior to their purchase fill out paperwork for an instant background check by the FBI. The FBI searches the name in its databases for disqualifying factors, such as a felony conviction or a conviction for domestic violence. If such a conviction is found, the FBI can halt the purchase. If it needs more time to look at records, the store must wait up to three days. The store can then sell the gun or not.

Asked recently by The Greenville News how Kohlhepp acquired his guns, which by law he was not supposed to have, Lt. Kevin Bobo, a spokesman for the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, said, “that’s a good question.”

But gun buyers are not limited to buying guns from a gun store. They can also purchase or receive them from family, friends, at gun shows or over the internet without having to go through a background check at the FBI.

Kohlhepp was convicted in Arizona in 1987 of kidnapping in connection with the rape of a 14-year-old neighbor when he was 15. According to court records, he used his father’s handgun which he took out of his truck for that crime. And when police came to talk to him about it, they said he had a rifle.

Those who knew him as a teenager and as an adult said he had a love of guns. But authorities have not said where the guns confiscated from his property came from or how he acquired them.

As a teen in kidnapping case, Kohlhepp called 'devil on a chain'