Joint task force finds 'overwhelming' number of firearms possessed by juveniles are stolen
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh police and the ATF are calling on lawful gun owners to secure their firearms after a joint task force initiative found the majority of guns that are being carried by young people and used in violent crimes are stolen.
Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert, U.S. Attorney Cindy Chung and ATF officials announced the results of the joint task force investigation Friday morning, less than a week after a shooting during a spring break party at an Airbnb in the city.
"The community has to step in, take ownership and help," Chief Schubert said.
Statistics show about 50% of the guns that juveniles used in violent crimes are stolen, ATF Special Agent in Charge Matthew Varisco of the Philadelphia Field Division said.
"Throughout the course of our analysis, we discovered an overwhelming amount of firearms juveniles were found in possession of we in a stolen status," he said. "These firearms were reported stolen by lawful owners, either from a vehicle or a residence."
To combat that, Varisco said he is calling on the public to use commonsense practices to secure legally-owned firearms. He said they should never be left unsecured in vehicles or homes.
In addition to stolen weapons, the investigation found straw purchases and ghost guns are the other ways the majority of juveniles are getting firearms, Varisco said. About 13 percent of the guns recovered were straw purchases where adults bought guns legally and sold them to juveniles. A smaller percentage recovered were ghost guns where parts are ordered on-line and assembled by the buyer
Varisco said anyone found to be involved in the straw purchase of a weapon will be held accountable. For ghost guns or privately-made firearms, Chung said those are the hardest to track because they have no registration number.
"I would like to note that based upon this initiative, a significant firearms trafficking scheme was disrupted based on the work of the agents and detectives. This scheme trafficked over 50 firearms onto the streets of Pittsburgh and the surrounding communities," he said.
Chung, who is the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, said she is crediting Pittsburgh police and the ATF for the early action on this probe.
"They began to look into this last year before last weekend's incident," she said.
The Easter Sunday shooting happened at an Airbnb in the city's East Allegheny neighborhood.
Police said more than 200 people, many of whom were underage, were packed into the Airbnb when 50 shots were fired inside and then more outside. Right now, there are no suspects or arrests.
Mathew Steffy-Ross and Jaiden Brown died from their injuries in the shooting. Nine others were injured.
