JuanCarlos wondered:
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Is it illegal for foreign nationals to own guns?
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I am a foreign national, and the answer is (predictably):
it depends.
Federal law prohibits the possession of firearms by foreign nationals on US soil on a
non-immigrant visa. If the shooter was in the US on a student visa, he would not have been legally permitted to possess a firearm. Federal law is silent when it comes to foreign nationals who are applying for, or have, permanent resident status (like myself). Then it comes down to state law, which varies widely. In New York state, foreign nationals are forbidden from possessing any deadly weapon. In Washington state, foreign nationals are required to get an Alien Firearms License (I know, it sounds like a permit for a Klingon disruptor) but are not otherwise subject to any special restrictions. Oregon and (I think) Virginia do not place any restrictions on foreign nationals.
But frankly, I'm skeptical about this; the identity of the shooter is not yet public knowledge, the so-called source is completely unidentified, speculation is running rampant anyway, and it doesn't really make sense that a Chinese national, upon being given the chance to attend an American institute of higher learning, would throw it all away in a spree killing with a pair of illegally acquired handguns. Insofar as any Chinese national wants to hurt America, or Americans, they're more likely to seek to do it by economic growth.