title:  80-Year-Old Man Guns Down 81-Year-Old Over Church Loan (VIDEO)
text: On June 13, 80-year-old Edward Acquisto shot and killed 81-year-old John Cloud in a Rhode Island cemetery.According to police, Acquisto had taken out a  substantial loan  from a congregational church in nearby Kingston, MA. The two men arranged to meet at Pocasset Hill Cemetery, in Tiverton, Rhode Island, where Acquisto reportedly went to read his Bible, to discuss the loan.Police did not provide details on the amount of the loan or how Acquisto spent the money that he borrowed from the church.During a press conference, Tiverton Police Chief Tom Blakey said,  There were people visiting graves in the cemetery, visiting loved ones  gravesites, and they heard the commotion, heard the gunshots. After shooting Cloud, the elderly Acquisto led police on a car chase, which ended when he turned down a dead-end street.Acquisto reportedly shot at police before law enforcement killed him in a Tiverton resident s driveway.WPRI reports that Acquisto was out on parole when he shot and killed Cloud.He was sentenced to life in prison in 1981, after raping his former girlfriend in her home. A year later he was sentenced to ten additional years in prison for beating a man to death. He was paroled in 2003.At this time it s unknown where or how Acquisto got the gun he used to shoot Cloud.There is no permit required for someone over the age of 18 to purchase a gun in Rhode Island. The state does require an  application,  and all sellers are supposed to conduct a background check through state or local law enforcement.In spite of that, a man who was released on parole after raping one person and killing another, somehow managed to obtain a gun.While it s possible that Acquisto didn t obtain the gun he used to kill Cloud legally, as the Law Center To Prevent Violence reports here, it s also more than possible that he did.Many states still do not require private gun sellers to conduct criminal background checks. Lax gun-control policies across the country allow violent felons to purchase guns with no questions asked.Here s more from WPRI. Image credit: Mele Avery via Flickr