WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has been investigating new ways to curb gun violence in the United States, including expanding and automating earlier this year the federal databases used in background checks on gun purchasers and coming up with new ideas for legislation to be considered by Congress and the White House.

A working group made up of officials from around the Justice Department and the department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had been working on some recommendations before 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 children and six adults last week at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Recommended Stories

Will election security ballot measures throw Republicans a turnout lifeline in 2026?

Why Keisha Lance Bottoms is trailing Jon Ossoff in Georgia

Some of Chicago’s crimes are merely widespread immigration fraud