Majority Of 'Crime Guns' In Chicago Came From Outside Illinois: Report

By Stephen Gossett in News on Oct 30, 2017 4:55PM

Chicago Police guard evidence near a murder scene in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on July 27, 2017 in Chicago / Photo: Scott Olson / Getty Images

Most so-called "crime guns"—guns recovered by Chicago police that were "illegally possessed, used, or suspected to be used in furtherance of a crime"—came from outside the city of Chicago, according to a new report released by the Chicago Police Department on Sunday. The majority of crime guns originated from outside the state, according to the Gun Trace Report, which analyzed gun traces between 2013 and 2016.

Nearly 60 percent of guns recovered in Chicago were traced back to other states, the report found. Nearly a quarter of recovered crime guns were traced to neighboring Indiana.

"These statistics align closely with those in the prior crime trace analysis that spanned from 2009-2013, demonstrating the consistency with which firearms enter Chicago from states with little or no regulation over FFL dealer sales and secondary sale markets This pattern also highlights Chicago’s challenge to address illegal guns within a loosely-regulated national gun market," researchers wrote.

Gun Trace Report

When crime guns originated closer to home, they often originated from outside the city: roughly two out of every five weapons came from ten licensed gun dealers in the suburbs. "Collectively, these ten source dealers make up almost a quarter of the crime guns recovered in Chicago, despite the existence of many other federally licensed dealers in Chicago’s vicinity," according to the report.

Two dealers, Chuck’s Gun Shop and Midwest Sporting Goods, accounted for 6.7 percent and 4.5 percent of recovered crime firearms. "For the better part of a decade, Chuck’s Gun Shop and Midwest Sporting Goods have consistently remained the top two [federally licensed firearms dealer ] for crime guns recovered by police in Chicago," the report states.

It should be emphasized that the report analyzes illegal firearms recovered by CPD, not strictly firearms that were discharged in violent crimes.

Chicago recovered six times as many guns per capita last year as New York and 1.5 times as
many guns as Los Angeles, according to the Gun Trace Report.