New York Post, Tuesday, August 13, 2019nypost.com9New Zealanders have
turned over more than
10,000 firearms to police in
less than a month as part of
a buyback program put
into effect after the Christ-
church massacre, accord-
ing to a report.
Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern’s government set
aside more than $100 mil-
lion to purchase the guns
when it pushed throughlegislation in April to ban
military-style semiauto-
matics, The Guardian re-
ported.
Since the program began
in mid-July, 10,242 firearms
have been handed in, the
newspaper said.
Another 1,269 (including
those at left) were brought
in under an amnesty pro-
gram that allowed people
to turn over the weaponswith no questions asked.
Ninety collection events
have been held around the
country of 5 million people
with more than 7,000 gun
owners attending, the pa-
per reported.
The buyback came after
a gunman attacked two
mosques in Christchurch
on March 15, killing 51 peo-
ple and injuring 49.
Joe TacopinoNZ buyback pulls in 10K guns
By JORGE FITZ-GIBBONA drug buddy of Dayton shooter
Connor Betts bought body armor
and gun parts for the killer — in-
cluding the 100-round magazine
the gunman used in his deadly
rampage, prosecutors claimed
Monday.
Ethan Kollie, 24, purchased the
armor, the “double drum” maga-
zine and the upper assembly of an
AR-15-style assault rifle for Betts
— then kept them in his own
apartment “in order to assist Betts
in hiding the items from Betts’ par-
ents,” federal prosecutors allege.
Kollie — who admitted that he
and Betts did “hard drugs” four to
five times a day in 2014 and 2015 —
even helped the mass murderer
assemble the firearm he used in
the massacre, the feds charge.
They put the rifle together in
Kollie’s apartment about 10 weeks
ago, officials said.
Kollie was questioned just hours
after the mass attack, and again
several days later.
He was arrested Friday on
charges he lied on federal firearms
forms, after admitting to investiga-
tors that he smoked pot regularly
for the last decade even though he
wrote on a federal firearms form
that he did not use marijuana or
other drugs.
Kollie is charged with making a
false statement regarding firearms
forms, as well as possession of a
firearm by an unlawful user/addict
of a controlled substance — and
could face up to 15 years in prison
if convicted.
None of the charges is tied di-
rectly to the mass shooting, nor is
there any indication Kollie know-
ingly helped Betts plan or carry
out the slaughter, officials said.
“Mr. Kollie does not stand ac-
cused in taking part in planning
the shooting,” US Attorney Benja-
min Glassman said Monday.
“There’s no allegation of that.
That’s not what this case is about.
What this case is about is anyone
who is discovered to have criminal
culpability, it’s not something fed-
eral agents who are investigating
will ignore.”
Kollie was arrested Friday inBeavercreek, Ohio, with the com-
plaint unsealed Monday in Dayton
federal court.
Betts, armed with an assault ri-
fle, opened fire in Dayton’s Ore-
gon District, a trendy nightspot
neighborhood, early Aug. 4, killing
nine people in the 30 seconds be-
fore police officers shot him dead.
The attack came one day after
Patrick Crusius walked into an ElPaso, Texas, Walmart and alleg-
edly shot 22 people dead with an
assault rifle.
Meanwhile, a new report re-
vealed Monday that Betts had to
drop out of college in 2014 be-
cause he didn’t “have the matu-
rity” to stick it out, according to
the Cincinnati Enquirer.
“I write to inform you that I
must withdraw from Wright State[University], as I do not yet have
the maturity to handle college,” he
wrote to his adviser at the time.
Betts’ unofficial transcript indi-
cates he was enrolled in the psy-
chology department.
Kollie’s lawyer, Nick Gounaris,
said his client was “shocked” by
Betts’ actions but declined to com-
ment about the charges.
[email protected]How Dayton killer got weapons: feds
TWISTED: Feds say Ethan Kollie
bought Connor Betts’ (above) AR-
style rifle and body armor, but add
there is no indication Kollie know-
ingly aided in the Dayton massacre.How Dayton killer got weapons: feds
The man accused of
opening fire in a mosque in
Norway on Saturday ar-
rived battered and bruised
in an Oslo court Monday, as
it emerged he was on po-
lice’s radar a year ago but
they failed to act on the tip.
Philip Manshaus, 21, smiled
in his first court appearance,
his face covered in scratches.
Police say he was subdued by
two men as he attacked Al-
Noor mosque outside Oslo.
Norway’s domestic-secu-
rity chief said his agency re-
ceived a “vague” tip about
Manshaus a year ago but
didn’t act on it because offi-
cials had no information on
any “concrete plans” of an
attack. Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
Police fail on
Oslo shooter
The “Bagel Guy” may get
nailed by a former Met.
Chris Morgan, whose on-
camera meltdown at a Long
Island bagel store went vi-
ral, is set to face off against
MLB All-Star Lenny Dyk-
stra in a boxing ring.
Dykstra (bottom), dubbed
“Nails” for his toughness on
the field, told The Post on
Monday that he inked a deal
with a Celebrity Boxing pro-
moter for the showdown Sept.
7 at The Show-
boat Hotel in
Atlantic City.
The 5-foot,
155-pound
Morgan (left)
said he’s not
intimidated.
“He’s one of
the best in the
world, but he’s
got 15 years
over me,” said
Morgan, 45.
“No offense,
but I’m youn-
ger, I’m stron-
ger, I’m faster.”
Dykstra, 56,
reached out to Morgan on
Twitter last month after
video emerged of him rant-
ing in a Bay Shore Bagel Boss
that women won’t date him
because he’s short.
“I want to help you,” Dyk-
stra, listed as 5-foot-10, 160
pounds when he played, said
in a video, adding that as “the
smallest guy in the league,”
he dealt “with the same kinds
of things.” Jackie Salo
Dykstra &
Bagel Guy
set to box
AP