Gun Found in Condo was Purchased by 20 Year Old Sahel Kazemi Three Days Before McNair Homicide … Murder – Suicide?

Nashville police have confirmed that the handgun found in the condo where Steve McNair and Sahel Kazemi died from gunshot wounds was purchased by the 20 year old female the Thursday prior to the shooting. Kazemi purchased the handgun from an unnamed person. Federal law requires that the purchaser of a handgun be 21 years of age which is also the same age required for a permit to carry a gun in the state of Tennessee.

According to police spokesman Don Aaron, Steve McNair was not with Sahel Kazemi when she bought the semiautomatic pistol that was found at the scene.It would appear that whoever sold the gun to Sahel Kazemi will be doing jail time.

The Nashville police confirmed Monday night that the handgun found in the apartment where Steve McNair was found shot to death Saturday was purchased Thursday by Sahel Kazemi, the 20-year-old woman who was found dead alongside him.

The police spokesman Don Aaron said that Kazemi bought the gun Thursday night from someone he did not name.

The handgun in question was retrieved from under the body of Sahel Kazemi at the crime scene. Steve McNair’s death has been officially ruled a homicide as he was shot two times in the head and two times in the chest. Police have yet to officially classify Kazemi’s death.

The gun was found under Kazemi’s body, but according to Aaron, tests to determine if gunshot residue was on Kazemi’s hands were not complete.

There are three questions that need to be answered to most likely call this tragic event a murder-suicide.

• 1. Is there gun powder residue on the hands of Sahel Kazemi?
• 2. What was the angle of entry of Sahel Kazemi gunshot to her head and here there powder burns and residue on her scalp?
• 3. When the friend entered the apartment/condo did he unlock the door from a lock in the door knob or a dead bolt?

UPDATE I: Three of the four shots wounds to McNair fired from a distance

It appears that two of the three questions above have been answered.

According to The Tennessean, three of the four gunshot wounds that killed former Tennessee Titan QB Steve McNair were fired from a distance of more than 3 feet away. One shot was to McNair’s temple was fired at close range as per the autopsy report.

Also, Sahel Kazemi’s gunshot wound to her head was a contact shot. This means that the gun was touching her head when fired. Even though police have not made it official, all signs are pointing to a murder suicide.“All the autopsy tells us is that her wound is potentially self inflicted,” Levy said. “In these cases, the cause of death is obvious. The manner of death a little trickier. We like to have as many factors as possible before we make a determination.”

Levy said while the case is certainly consistent with a murder-suicide scenario, there are several things that are atypical: men are usually the perpetrator, and there is typically a history of domestic violence in the relationship or mental issues in the shooter. So far, neither factor is present, Levy said.