Gun for Hire

A man in his 20s fatally shot himself Tuesday at the Gun for Hire shooting range in Woodland Park, police said. (Luke Nozicka | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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WOODLAND PARK - A 24-year-old New Jersey law allowing for temporary transfers of firearms at gun ranges is under scrutiny following the latest in a string of suicides at New Jersey shooting ranges.

Police say a Bergen County man in his 20s shot himself in the chest Tuesday with a weapon he rented from Gun For Hire in Woodland Park, a shooting range that allows gun rentals to anyone with a driver's license and a companion.

Women who come to the range need only a driver's license, according to the website.

Some question whether ranges should allow people off the street to be handed a gun.

"This is insanity," said Manny Cerca, who has owned the Bullet Hole shooting range in Belleville for more than three decades.

The Bullet Hole, like many other galleries, requires customers to own their own gun and have a state-issued firearms ID card. Also, there is a full-time range officer standing by at all times while the facility is open, Cerca said.

"We've been here 35 years and we've never had an incident. And there's a reason - we don't rent any firearms at our facility," Cerca said.

A man at 'Gun For Hire' who declined to identify himself touted the facility's popularity and its safety record before asking a reporter to leave.

"We have 1.2 million people who use our facility and just one suicide. Go report on France or something," he said.

Tuesday's fatal shooting at Gun For Hire was the second at the facility in two months.

Over the past two years, there have been at least six fatal shootings at New Jersey gun ranges:

July 12: An Elmwood Park man in his 20s fatally shot himself in the chest with a handgun he rented from Gun For Hire at The Woodland Park Range, police said. The unidentified man, who was accompanied by his brother, also in his 20s, was pronounced dead after being taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson.

May 28: A 30-year-old Garfield man

Nov. 30, 2015: A 28-year-old man

Sept. 19, 2015: A 21-year-old man

Jan. 5, 2015: Former state corrections officer Jeffrey Mazeski, 32, of Woodbridge, f

Sept. 6, 2014: A 30-year-old

Ira L. Levin, president of the New Jersey Firearms Dealer Association, won't rent guns unless the customer comes in with their own weapon.

"You have to physically have a firearm with you. If they don't have one, they can't use one," Levin said.

"If someone owns their own firearm and ammo and, God forbid, they want to hurt themselves, they can do that in their own home," he said. "Obviously, I don't advocate that, but I think the chances are less if they own their own they won't do it at a range."

Levin owns Legend Firearms in Morganville and is in the process of building a 30-lane firing range in Monmouth County. He said customers who come with their own firearms sometimes want to rent a different weapon they are thinking about buying.

Often, ranges that rent to people who come in off the street try to make things safer by insisting people come in pairs, Levin said.

This was the case at Gun For Hire in Woodland Park. The unidentified man who shot himself had come with his brother, according to reports.

"Obviously, coming there in pairs didn't work out in (the Woodland Park) case," Levin said. "But you would think that someone who goes to a range with their friend or relative would know if the person is suicidal or not."

Anthony P. Colandro, a master firearms instructor and the owner of Gun For Hire, did not return a call and email seeking comment.

Woodland Park mayor Keith Kazmark told NorthJersey.com that Gun For Hire, which opened in the three years ago, is operating within the law.

Kazmark said he was given legal advice that state law supersedes any borough ordinance. Still, he hopes to talk to Colandro about the tragedies at his business, according to the news website.

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office on Friday cited a law passed in the early 1990s allowing dealers and owners of gun ranges to transfer possession of weapons.

"The 1992 law in N.J. - 2C:58-3.1 - authorizes this temporary transfer of a firearm at a gun range. The law speaks for itself," said Paul Loriquet, spokesman for the N.J. Attorney General's Office. "We have no further comment."

In part, the law states a licensed dealer or legal owner "may temporarily transfer a handgun, rifle or shotgun to another person who is 18 years of age or older, whether or not the person receiving the firearm holds a firearms purchaser identification card or a permit to carry a handgun."

Monmouth County attorney Evan Nappen, who wrote the manual, "New Jersey Gun Law," believes suicidal people will find a way to kill themselves - with or without gun ranges.

"If someone is despondent or not in their right frame of mind, an owner would never rent to them. However, if someone is appearing normal, then how are you going to know?" asked Nappen.

Nappen said the state's gun transfer law has proven useful to people unsure about whether they would like to own a firearm.

"The ability to transfer is useful for the overwhelming number of law-abiding citizens," Nappen said. "If you don't make this available, you're going to force people into a long licensing procedure and they may end up with a gun even though they don't want one."

Manny Cerca of the Bullet Hole believes the gun transfer law should be altered or a waiting period imposed for people seeking to rent firearms.

"There should be a three-day cooling off period," Cerca said. "Maybe people (intent on suicide) will stop and think about it. Maybe three days will give them time to change their mind."

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.