Former Philadelphia deputy arrested, charged with illegally selling guns used in school shooting

A former Philadelphia sheriff’s deputy was arrested and charged with illegally selling firearms used in a fatal school shooting, federal officials announced Thursday.

Samir Ahmad, 29 was arrested Oct. 19 and charged with firearms trafficking and selling firearms to a person unlawfully in the United States, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

He allegedly sold two semi-automatic pistols, which were later found to have been used in a Philadelphia high school shooting two weeks earlier, and ammunition to an FBI informant in mid-October.

On Sept. 27, at least four people opened fire on a group of high schoolers leaving a football scrimmage at Roxborough High School, killing a 14-year-old. 

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Ahmad sold the guns used in that shooting to an FBI informant on Oct. 13, federal court documents allege.

“The fact that the defendant had access to these guns so quickly after they were used to commit such a horrific crime speaks volumes about the danger that this defendant poses to the community,” court documents say.

“The idea of a sworn public servant so blatantly undermining public safety is reprehensible,” Jacqueline Maguire, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, said in the DOJ release.

During the gun sale, the FBI informant told Ahmad he was illegally living in the U.S. and could be deported if he was caught with the gun.

“You don’t got to worry about none of that,” Ahmad responded. He made $3,000 from that sale. 

Five days later, Ahmad sold another pistol and over 2 ounces of meth to the informant. He was fired and arrested the next day.

Ahmad had been a sheriff’s deputy since February 2018. He had a “historically poor record” of attendance at work, court documents say.

“Plainly, this fact suggests that the defendant made more money through the illegal sale of firearms and drugs than he did showing up for his job as a sworn law enforcement officer, and the profits made through his illegal side business influenced his decision-making more than his call to service through his legitimate employment,” they read.