Half of firearms seized in cases involving children and firearms in Pittsburgh last year were stolen, according to new data provided Friday by a joint task force between police and federal agents believed to understand how children get guns.
The deep dive has begun, Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said, “and it was born out of a desire to answer the question that’s been asked over and over again…and that’s how these weapons fall into the hands of these minors, our children?”
The goal of the task force, a joint venture between the city’s police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, was to determine where the weapons came from.
Matthew Varisco, special agent in charge of the ATF field office in Philadelphia, declined to say how many guns they seized from minors in 2021, but said the guns were seized in 50 cases.
The data collected, Varisco said, shows that just under half of firearms were reported stolen. Of those who were robbed, about a third were stolen from cars, most of which were unsecured.
“It’s something that can easily be fixed by just making sure his firearm is properly secured and accounted for,” Varisco said.
The review, although started more than a year ago, took on new urgency after a shooting early April 17 in a the party left two boys dead and nine other people injured. Police said around 200 people attended the party, which was held at an Airbnb rental unit on the north side. According to the police, many of those present were minors.
According to information from the task force, approximately 13% of firearms seized from children in 2021 were purchased illegally, and ATF officials acknowledged that straw purchases “remain a major problem in communities across the Commonwealth and across the country”.
Schubert said it was up to members of the community to speak up.
“People have to move on. People have to let us know if someone has a gun, because a lot of people do,” Schubert said. “A lot of people know people who carry, be it friends, classmates, family members. We have to take that gun out of their hands because it will eventually turn into someone getting shot and killed.
A majority is stolen. Of those who were stolen from a vehicle, the majority were unsecured, meaning they were in plain sight. “He’s an attractive target,” said U.S. attorney Cindy Chung. pic.twitter.com/wjlVIQfyUM
— Megan Guza (@meganguzaTrib) April 22, 2022
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