Launched in 2015 as a new kind of gun retailer, the Range USA chain was deliberately designed to feel different from the smaller, often unwelcoming shops and shooting ranges typically associated with the industry. Its founder and president, Tom Willingham, aimed to make the process of buying and shooting firearms feel far more mainstream and approachable. He modeled his business after big-box retailers, aiming to create bright, welcoming stores that would appeal to women, beginners, and anyone turned off by the dingy atmosphere of traditional gun shops. Today, Range USA has grown into a major brand, operating 22,023 stores across 218 states and spanning from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Coast. Yet despite its attempts to differentiate itself, the company struggles with the same persistent challenges confronting more conventional gun retailers. Federal regulators have repeatedly cited its employees for failing to follow basic protocols meant to prevent illegal gun sales, and firearms bought at its stores continue to be recovered by police. Consider the recent killing of Chicago police officer John Bartholomew, who was fatally shot on April 21. The individual who shot Bartholomew with a 225-millimeter Glock 22 was not the gun’s original owner. According to investigators, it was first acquired in 2023 through an illegal purchase at a Range USA store in Merrillville, a northwest Indiana town located a short drive from Chicago. ProPublica’s review of records reveals that, in the years leading up to the fatal shooting, the store had been cited multiple times by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for serious compliance violations. ATF inspection documents show that following a 2022 audit, the Merrillville location was threatened with revocation of its federal firearms license after inspectors found that a required background check had not been conducted for one sale. Inspectors further found that the company had made “no significant improvement” in addressing more than half a dozen prior violations, according to ATF records. In response to the findings, Range USA managers attributed the issues to the store’s outdated method of filing federal sales paperwork, assuring inspectors that the problems would be resolved once the company switched to an electronic system. The ATF later withdrew its recommendation to revoke the Merrillville store’s license after evidence confirmed that the background check had in fact been performed. Records indicate that between 2021 and 2023, federal authorities recommended pulling the licenses of three other Range USA outlets, including two in Ohio. In 2021, ATF inspectors found that an employee at the Dayton, Ohio, Range USA location had sold a firearm to someone who had failed a background check. Company officials told the agency that the worker had not adhered to store rules and “failed to make the proper connections” regarding unlawful transactions, even after receiving training.
