New Allegheny County task force to crack down on straw purchased guns

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- There's a new push to stop illegal guns from winding up at crime scenes. A new task force will bring more resources to the area. 

All the big names in the law enforcement community met Thursday afternoon in the county courthouse to announce the Allegheny County Gun Violence Task Force.

The top priority is to stop the purchasing of guns that end up getting handed over to criminals. 

Law enforcement from across the state came together on the main steps of the Allegheny County Courthouse Thursday. To talk about how illegal guns keep showing up at our community's crime scenes.

A bag of guns was found in Brackenridge after Aaron Swan ambushed and killed police chief Justin McIntire. Swan was a felon, unable to legally buy or own a gun, but he had all of these guns on him. 

District Attorney Stephen Zappala and Attorney General Michelle Henry want to crack down on straw-purchase gun deals, when a person legally buys a gun but passes it off or sells it to a convicted felon who can't legally buy a gun. They're creating a new gun task force to tackle the problem on a larger scale. 

"These straw purchased firearms, they end up at crime scenes, they end up in shootings, they end up where individuals are killed and so they're putting these firearms in the hands of individuals who are later going to use them," said Henry. 

They're funneling $1.5 million at the problem, funding 10 new positions: seven agents to investigate, one attorney to prosecute, one analyst and one administrative position.

Henry says they're already doing this in Philadephia with promising results.

"We have a gun show out east in the eastern part of the commonwealth where we were finding that individuals again were making these straw purchases, handing them over in the parking lot to individuals who are not permitted to have the guns."

Unfortunately, by the time investigators can track the guns back to the straw purchaser, the crime's likely already happened. There's a mandatory minimum of 5 to 10 years in jail if you buy a gun and give it to someone who can't possess it.

One person noticeably absent from the room Thursday was Mayor Ed Gainey. KDKA-TV reached out and was told he wasn't invited. His team said he's committed to working with anyone who wants to partner with his vision of making Pittsburgh the safest city in America.