A 24-year-old man is facing federal charges after authorities said he lied to investigators and purchased body armor and firearms parts for a friend who killed nine people in Dayton this month, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Ethan Kollie is charged with possessing firearms while being a user of a controlled substance and making false statements regarding firearms. Kollie was interviewed on the day of the shooting. Agents said he admitted that he purchased body armor and firearms parts used in the mass killing and kept those parts at his apartment so the shooter’s parents wouldn’t find them.
The charges Kollie faces are unrelated to the shooting and stem from Kollie’s own possession of firearms. Kollie admitted to using drugs including marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms. Under federal law, it is illegal to possess or purchase a firearm as a user of controlled substances. On a form needed to purchase at least one of his own pistols, Kollie said he was not a drug user. Kolie is not accused of taking part in planning the shooting, said U.S. Attorney Ben Glassman. Glassman said Kollie purchased the body armor, an upper receiver for the shooter’s AR-15 style weapon and a 100-round drum magazine for him. Agents said Kollie admitted using “hard drugs” and marijuana with the shooter in 2014 and 2015.