Aurora gunman's family: 'We deeply apologize' for shootings

This undated booking photo provided by the Aurora Illinois Police Department shows Gary Montez Martin, who police say killed multiple people at a suburban Chicago manufacturing warehouse after he was fired, Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. (Aurora Illinois Police Department via AP)

AURORA, Ill. – The family of the man who fatally shot five people at a suburban Chicago manufacturing warehouse is offering condolences to the victims' families, with one relative saying "we deeply apologize" for the killings.

Gary Martin , 45, died Friday in a shootout with police after he killed five co-workers and wounded five police officers at Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora, Illinois.

Martin's cousin, Jesseca Clemons, told The (Aurora) Beacon-News that she and her family "would like to send our deepest apologies to all the victims' families, friends and loved ones."

"No one in our family condones anyone's life being taken," Clemons told the newspaper on Monday. "We know that this is a hard time and we deeply apologize and we are praying for everyone. And we ask the same in return."

Clemons, 34, said Martin's mother is grieving for her son and that "she would like for everyone if they could, find it in their hearts to find forgiveness," so her family and others can move forward.

The family has no immediate answers on what led Martin to open fire at the industrial valve manufacturer about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Chicago, Clemons said. The shooting also left a sixth worker wounded.

"We are saddened by his actions and we are shocked," she said. "We had no clue he would ever be involved in something like this."

Illinois State Police said Monday that Martin had lied about his criminal history in 2014 to obtain a card from the agency that allowed him to purchase a handgun.

Martin had answered "no" to a question on his January 2014 application for a Firearm Owner's Identification card about whether he'd ever been convicted of a felony, state police said.

A records search "revealed no prohibiting factors" in Martin's Illinois criminal history, state police said. His card was approved on Jan. 31, 2014. He then purchased a handgun in March 2014 after clearing another background check.

State police said they later discovered that Martin had a felony conviction in Mississippi for aggravated assault stemming from the stabbing of an ex-girlfriend, after he applied for a concealed carry license later in March 2014.

Martin's fingerprints, submitted for that license, revealed an FBI record that led state police to discover that conviction.