Earlier this morning, a lone gunman, identified by law enforcement as Eduardo Sencion, opened fire at and around an IHOP in Carson City, NV, killing three people and injuring eight more before turning the weapon on himself.

According to law enforcement, he was using an AK-47, which is currently being examined to determine if it is semiautomatic or automatic.

From the Reno Gazette-Journal:

Authorities say gunman Eduardo Sencion used an AK-47 assault rifle in an IHOP attack that killed three people, including two members of the National Guard.

Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong says they're analyzing the weapon to determine whether it is automatic or semi-automatic.

Authorities at the scene reportedly “found one empty 30-round magazine and two more still containing rounds on the ground.”

The gunman's motives are currently unclear, but law enforcement officers are reportedly attempting to determine whether he was targeting five uniformed National Guard members who were shot in the attack, with two fatalities.

As the Violence Policy Center has noted, while the 1994 federal assault weapons ban attempted to ban the AK-47, gun manufacturers quickly evaded the restriction “by making slight, cosmetic design changes to banned weapons.” The ban subsequently expired in 2004. A 2003 VPC study found that one in five law enforcement officials killed in the line of duty from 1998 to 2001 were killed with an assault weapon.