New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against Bowman’s Gun Shop and its owner, Timothy Bowman, in St. Lawrence County, accusing them of repeatedly violating the state’s gun safety laws and endangering public safety through negligent business practices.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, Bowman failed to properly secure the shop and store firearms and ammunition, leading to two burglaries—one through an unlocked door, the other through an open window. In total, 58 firearms and dozens of boxes of ammunition were stolen. Investigators say some of the stolen guns were later trafficked to New York City, Philadelphia, and even Barbados.
Despite the thefts, Bowman has allegedly continued to ignore state gun safety regulations. Under New York law, firearm dealers must have a written security plan, properly store all guns, and install a security alarm system operated by a licensed provider, requirements that Bowman is accused of failing to meet.
“Irresponsible and inadequate security at gun shops is dangerous for all New Yorkers,” said Attorney General James. “New Yorkers deserve to feel safe in their communities, and gun shop owners like Timothy Bowman, who repeatedly violate our gun safety laws and make it easy for thieves to steal and traffic guns, put New Yorkers at risk. Gun shop owners have a responsibility to maintain the utmost security in and around their stores to prevent theft and gun trafficking. Mr. Bowman violated that responsibility, and today we are taking action to hold him accountable and protect New Yorkers.”
Attorney General James is seeking to permanently bar Bowman from operating a gun shop in New York, as well as impose financial penalties and require disgorgement of profits.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, Bowman’s Gun Shop is located in Gouverneur, New York, and has been operating since 2014. In April 2019, Mr. Bowman’s license to sell pistols and his permit to possess pistols were suspended by the St. Lawrence County Court for six months and one year, respectively. His license and permit were suspended after an investigation by the New York State Police (NYSP), during which Mr. Bowman admitted that he had knowingly received two handguns from someone who he knew possessed them illegally and that he made false entries about these two handguns into his legally required logbooks.
While his license and permit were suspended, Mr. Bowman continued to operate his store irresponsibly. In September 2019, burglars broke into Bowman’s Gun Shop and stole two shotguns, three rifles, two pistols, a BB gun, over 50 boxes of ammunition, and cash. The burglars entered through an exterior door that was unlocked and then forced open an interior door. Following this first burglary, Mr. Bowman did not take adequate steps to improve security at the store.
A year later, in September 2020, another group of burglars broke into Bowman’s Gun Shop. This time, the burglars stole 28 pistols, 12 revolvers, nine rifles—including four AR-style rifles—and two shotguns. The burglars were able to enter the store because Mr. Bowman had left a window partially open when the store was otherwise closed. Although Bowman’s Gun Shop had an alarm system in place at the time of the second burglary, Mr. Bowman admitted that he neglected to arm the system “three-quarters of the time,” including on the night of the second burglary. In investigating the second burglary, NYSP was repeatedly contacted by other police departments that had recovered guns in the course of their criminal investigations that had been stolen from Bowman’s Gun Shop. Guns stolen in the 2020 burglary were recovered by authorities in New York City, Philadelphia, and Barbados. Moreover, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) recovered an additional gun that was stolen but was not reported as stolen by Bowman’s, as required by federally licensed gun dealers.
In October 2023, NYSP inspected Bowman’s Gun Shop and concluded that it did not comply with legal safety requirements for gun stores. In New York, all gun stores are required to:
- Implement a security plan;
- Secure all guns after business hours;
- Store ammunition separately from guns and out of reach of customers;
- Maintain recordings of security video footage from the store for a minimum of two years; and
- Maintain backups of paper records.
With this lawsuit, Attorney General James seeks to ban Bowman from owning or operating a gun store in New York and to obtain a court order requiring Mr. Bowman to comply with all of New York’s gun safety laws. Attorney General James also seeks to collect disgorgement, penalties, and fees.
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