ATF Rolls Into Baltimore to Help Eliminate Their “Gun Violence” Problem

By Beth Baumann

Baltimore has made a name for itself as being one of the most violent cities in America. To help combat the “gun violence” problem the city has, the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has rolled out a new program: allowing the city to borrow a “gun tracing” van. The ATF hopes to make this van, and others like it, accessible to cities nationwide.

“We are looking for all the help we can get. As you know our murder rate is up. Murder is out of control. Too many guns on our streets,” Mayor Catherine Pugh told CBS Baltimore.

The idea behind the van is simple: using shell casings and evidence to trace a gun’s owner faster.

“Once we take a recovered firearm, we’re able to stick it into the snail trap, discharge the firearm, whereby we can get an exemplar from this particular firearm. It tells you definitively, what gun has been tied to what homicide, ”ATF Firearms Division Chief James Ferguson explains.

Once the casings are analyzed, the weapon could be connected to other homicides.

“If you are taking a gun out the streets to resolve your petty conflicts with firearm violence, that’s something you need to worry about, …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms