WarFairy/Reddit

First it was Instagram. Now, Reddit, the so-called “front page of the Internet,” has been exposed as an active marketplace for assault rifles, high-capacity magazines and other powerful firearms, according to an investigation by Mother Jones. The Guns for Sale page, which counts more than 7,200 subscribers, offers buyers and sellers a forum on the site, which boasts tens of millions of users and drives major traffic to other websites.

But more than that, the popular bulletin board, which was acquired by Condé Nast in 2006, has lent its logo to guns brokered through the site. Nearly 100 AR-15s have been engraved with Reddit’s signature alien logo. The logo was licensed to the gun group in May 2011, but a Condé Nast spokesperson emphasized that Reddit is “completely separate” from the publishing behemoth.

Like Armslist, the page’s moderators “warn users to comply with federal and state laws, and many sellers on the site say that they transfer guns through FFLs, which conduct background checks on buyers,” Mother Jones reports. “But some user comments suggest that sellers may be exploiting a loophole in federal law to traffic firearms—including talk of licensed dealers selling guns without conducting background checks, which in some circumstances would be illegal.”

Because the Reddit community prizes the privacy of its users, gun advocacy and sales have found an ideal audience. Contributors to Reddit’s gun topic page have already labeled Mother Jones’s report “hack journalism.”

Here is today’s report.

—Jennifer Mascia

Christopher Melling, 31, and his daughter, Aimee Melling, 2, were found fatally shot in what police believe was a murder-suicide in Burwell, Neb., Tuesday afternoon. Police discovered the bodies during a welfare check. A single firearm was found at the scene.

—Omaha.com

A 13-year-old boy was shot and killed and an 11-year-old boy was wounded in Atlantic City, N.J., Wednesday afternoon. Police said the shooting was preceded by an argument that lasted at least 10 minutes. The suspect fled the scene on a bike.

—WPVI-TV

A boy was shot and wounded at a northeast Washington D.C. rec center Wednesday afternoon. Police are unsure what led to the shooting, but they have a suspect description.

—CBS DC

A 16-year-old boy was shot in the leg and wounded after buying marijuana on the west side of Wilmington, Del., late Monday. The victim had returned home when he was approached by a man who robbed him. Four and a half hours earlier, a 23-year-old man was shot in the leg and wounded after being robbed by two men in the Hilltop neighborhood. Both incidents are under investigation.

—Delaware Online

Harley Douglas Moody, 37, was shot multiple times and killed in Lone Wolf, Okla., late Monday. Police arrested his girlfriend, Sandra Josephine Woodard, 42.

—NewsOK

William “Eddie” Cleveland, 49, was shot and critically wounded following an argument with his stepfather in the Langsville area of Meigs County, Ohio, Wednesday morning. Robert Burns, 69, is in custody.

—WSAZ 3

A 24-year-old man was shot and seriously wounded in Grand Forks, N.D., Wednesday afternoon. Police are investigating.

—GrandForksHerald.com

One person was shot in the chest in Stroud, Okla., early Wednesday. Police haven’t said what led to the shooting or if a suspect is in custody.

—Newson6.com



A 46-year-old man was shot and wounded following an argument in Yuma, Ariz., early Wednesday. Police arrested 22-year-old Marco Navarrete, and they are looking to question a 20-year-old man.

—MyFoxPhoenix.com

A 33-year-old man was shot in the head and killed at a bar in the Harlem area of Manhattan, N.Y., early Wednesday. The gunman reportedly walked into PJ’s Bar and shot the victim. No arrests have been made.

—NY1

One person was shot and wounded at a residence in the North Hills neighborhood of Knoxville, Tenn., Wednesday night. Authorities have yet to confirm any details, including the number of victims.

—KnoxNews.com

A woman with serious gunshot wounds was dropped off at a Topeka, Kan., hospital Wednesday afternoon. The driver took off. The victim is not cooperating with police.

—WIBW.com

Johnny Evans, 34, was shot in the head and killed and a woman was shot twice and wounded in Hobson City, Ala., Wednesday afternoon. Police believe the shooting was domestic in nature.

—AL.com

A store owner was shot and wounded during a robbery at the El Bodeguero Market in Hawthorne, Calif., Tuesday. The victim was shielding his 8-year-old niece when he was shot. The robber, who reportedly apologized after the shooting, is being sought.

—KTLA5

Ramiro Melendez-Lobos, 22, was gunned down on a Van Nuys, Calif., street Wednesday. The victim was walking when a man approached him and opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun. The attacker fled in a gray Honda or Acura.

—Los Angeles Times

A man in his 40s was shot multiple times and critically wounded while sitting in a car parked on a street in Encino, Calif., Wednesday evening. The victim was approached by a man in his mid-50s who opened fire before fleeing in a pickup truck. No word on a motive.

—KTLA5

A 40-year-old man was wounded when shots were fired into a crowd after a nightclub brawl in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles, Calif., early Wednesday. After security personnel broke up the fight, six of the combatants got into two cars, and one of them opened fire. Police have been unable to identify the suspects.

—Los Angeles Daily News

A 45-year-old cable technician was shot and critically wounded during a robbery attempt in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago, Ill., Wednesday afternoon. Police said he was sitting in his vehicle in an alley when he was approached by a man who stole his wallet and shot him in the stomach. The suspect is being sought. At least five people were shot in Chicago on Wednesday, including an 18-year-old man shot in the leg during an apparent robbery in the Humboldt Park neighborhood; a 56-year-old man shot in the head and critically wounded in the South Shore neighborhood, an attack police believe may be domestic in nature; and a 29-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman shot in a possible drive-by attack in the West Woodlawn neighborhood.

—Chicago Tribune

Imani Porter, 20, was shot in the head and killed while sitting in a car in the parking lot of Steak ‘n Shake restaurant in Homestead, Pa., Wednesday night. The victim was the uncle of the rapper Wiz Khalifa, who tweeted after the shooting, “My uncle was younger and more levelheaded than all of us. I would have never seen this happening in a million years.” Detectives said they found heroin in the car. Anyone with information is being asked to contact police.

—CBS Pittsburgh

A 44-year-old man was shot twice during a carjacking attempt in northeast Philadelphia, Pa., Wednesday afternoon. Two men wearing black clothing fled the scene. No arrests have been made.

—CBS Philly

Anthony Holland, 42, was shot and killed following an argument in northwest Atlanta, Ga., Wednesday night. No further details were released.

—AJC.com

Quinton Parker, 23, was shot in the leg by two assailants who broke into a duplex belonging to the mother of his child in Jackson, Tenn., Tuesday night. Jasmine Price, 22, was unable to identify the suspects because they were wearing masks. It is unclear if anything was stolen.

—JacksonSun.com

Drew Mary Whitley, 60, was shot in the head while lying on her couch in Chinquapin, N.C., Tuesday night. Police said a bullet went through the front door of her trailer. Police are following up on leads, but there have been no arrests yet.

—WITN

Tyson McMillan, 19, was shot in the back in Navassa, N.C., late Wednesday. Police believe the victim and the suspect knew each other, and the shooting was preceded by an argument.

—WECT

One person was wounded at a north Dallas, Tex., apartment complex Wednesday morning when three suspects forced their way into an apartment and opened fire. Police said that the suspects and the victim all knew each other, but the motive for the shooting is not yet known.

—CBS DFW

Cedric Octavious Sandidge, 32, was found with a gunshot wound to the torso at an apartment complex in Lynchburg, Va., Tuesday night. Investigators have not yet identified a suspect or determined a motive.

—The News & Advance

Edward Jackson was shot in the hip in Chattanooga, Tenn., Wednesday afternoon. The victim told detectives he was not able to see the shooter.

—TimesFreePress.com

A man in his mid-20’s was found shot multiple times near the Lafayette Square neighborhood in downtown St. Louis, Mo., early Wednesday. Romell Clemons died at a hospital. Four men fled the scene in a silver four-door vehicle.

—KMOV.com