Posted March 17, 2017 11:57 am by Comments

By Andrew Shepperson

The number of guns stolen in New Orleans rose significantly in 2016, arming criminals and fueling violent crime across the area.
According to New Orleans Police Department records obtained by the Times-Picayune, some 604 guns were reported stolen in the city in 2016, a 19 percent uptick from 2015.
“We are fighting illegal guns every day,” said NOPD Deputy Chief Paul Noel. He added that criminals get guns in a “bunch of different ways” but that stolen firearms were “a huge conduit.”
Authorities say that the actual number of guns is most likely much higher, as they estimate only about half of stolen guns are reported to the police. About half of the reported stolen guns were taken from vehicles.
“We cannot leave firearms in our vehicle, and we absolutely cannot leave firearms in unsecured vehicles,” Noel said. “If you’re a gun owner, you need to be a responsible gun owner. The responsibility of owning a gun comes with properly locking and securing that firearm – not leaving it loose in your vehicle.”
The Times Picayune reports city officials have recently taken measures to try and deal with the issue of stolen guns.
Mayor Mitch Landieu signed a law last year that penalizes people who fail to report stolen guns

Source: Guns.com

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