ATF: Theft of guns from military bases not common timesunion.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesunion.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Updated on May 7, 2021 at 9:21 pm
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The latest weapon in Philadelphia’s fight to curb gun violence comes in the form of a van from federal authorities.
Since early April, the city’s forensic unit has been getting help from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, using its mobile crime lab to analyze ballistic evidence while dealing with a current staffing shortage and surge in shootings, Philadelphia Office of Forensic Science Director Michael Garvey said.
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“When you’re talking about the level of violence that we’re seeing, we need to aid investigations as quickly as possible, so once again, like in 2012 and like in 2016, and like in every case we have when we’re tracing firearms and running this evidence, we reached out to the ATF for help, and like no better partner, they showed up again,” Garvey said.
Chances are good that the gun used to kill the person you read about on the streets of Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, Stamford, Danbury, Norwalk or Waterbury came from another state, often, but not always, down south where the laws are less stringent, authorities say.
And if a gun is in the hands of a criminal, it may well be used in multiple shootings and other crimes, authorities say.
“I’ve seen (evidence) of a gun being used in 10-15 different crimes” in Connecticut metropolitan areas, said Scott Riordan, resident agent in charge of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Connecticut Office in New Haven. “That’s how a lot of our gang cases are worked.”