Take A Look Inside Chicago Police Department's Confiscated Gun Vault

By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 18, 2013 1:40PM

The Chicago Police Department has seized 5,000 illegal guns in 2013, a record Police Supt. Garry McCarthy says isn't boasting since Chicago confiscates nine guns for every one seized in New York City.

CBS 2 went inside the West Side warehouse where CPD keeps those guns off the street. The building, a former Sears Roebuck catalog warehouse, is home to 80,000 firearms, including military-grade assault rifles like the AR-15 popular with street gangs.

McCarthy used the tour as an opportunity to call for tighter gun laws.

“We, as a department, have made tremendous progress, but we can't go backwards in terms of gun laws directed at reducing violence in our city's streets,” McCarthy said in a statement. “Our comprehensive policing strategy and partnership with the communities have resulted in fewer murders, shootings, and overall crime in Chicago. We need the lawmakers to do their part."

The inventory of firearms dates back to January 1940 but it's unsure if that's when the collection began. McCarthy noted that, unlike other police departments, guns seized by CPD aren't re-sold. Some are broken down and melted.