Police troubled by rise in gun thefts in Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police shared concerns about a huge jump in the number of stolen firearms in the city.
Pittsburgh police spoke about the rash of gun thefts at their weekly media briefing on Thursday.
"People plain being negligent with firearms," Detective Russell Cain with the Firearms Tracking Unit for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police said.
From January 2021 to June 2021, 156 guns were reported stolen. So far this year, 215 firearms have been reported stolen.
"With gun violence prevention being a priority of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the mayor's office, we feel it's important to shine a light on this increasing trend in order to mitigate the number of illegal firearms that are being added to our streets daily," said Dr. Heath Johnson, a crime analyst with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.
Cain and Johnson said many of these firearms were snatched because of negligent gun owners. Most were swiped from unlocked vehicles.
"A large percentage of these firearms are reported stolen from vehicles, and a large percentage of those are reported stolen from vehicles that are unlocked or at least no signs of forced entry," Johnson said.
"We've had people leave their guns in their cars with the windows down in high crime areas and unlocked. You're just asking for problems," Cain said.
They believe ownership responsibility is becoming a serious issue, from people not keeping their guns' records to hiding them in public.
"We've had people report their guns stolen while it wasn't allowed in a bar. 'So, I went across the street, and I stuck my gun up in a tree.' We've had other people, 'Oh, I was on my way to work, and I can't take my gun to work so I stuck it under the bushes on the North Side,'" Cain said.
Cain said police have 455 recovered firearms so far this year. Of those, 373 were not reported stolen, 37 were reported stolen in the city and 45 were reported stolen elsewhere.
Police are urging people to use gun safes in homes and gun locks in vehicles. Law enforcement even offers gun locks free of charge at any zone location. They are also planning to eventually provide gun locks at community events as well.
