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Majority of Illegally Owned Guns First Bought Out of State: Police, Mayor

By Kelly Bauer | May 28, 2014 4:05pm | Updated on May 29, 2014 11:24am
 The Chicago Police Department said the majority of Chicago's illegally owned guns are coming from outside the state, according to a news release.
The Chicago Police Department said the majority of Chicago's illegally owned guns are coming from outside the state, according to a news release.
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DNAinfo/Josh McGhee (File)

CHICAGO — A report released Wednesday shows 60 percent of Chicago's illegally owned guns are coming from out of state, according to a news release from Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office and the Chicago Police Department.

Almost 60 percent of the guns used to commit a crime in Chicago from 2009 to 2013 were first bought in states like Indiana, Wisconsin and Mississippi, according to the release. Those states do not require background checks for gun sales at shows or over the Internet.

The report also found:

• Chicago police recover seven times as many crime guns as New York City and twice as many as Los Angeles police.

• More than 3,000 guns, or nearly 20 percent, of guns recovered from Chicago crime scenes from 2009 to 2013 were sold by three stores in Cook County and one in Gary, Ind.

• An average of three illegally owned guns were traced back to other stores that sell guns.

"The vast majority of gun dealers sell very few guns that turn up in crimes, but one or two dealers like the ones we have here in Cook County can funnel thousands of guns to the streets," said Mark Jones, University of Chicago crime lab law enforcement adviser and retired ATF special agent, according to the release.

An ordinance that was scheduled to be introduced to City Council Wednesday aims to more tightly regulate gun trafficking by enhancing dealer regulations. The ordinance would make it so gun shops must do employee background checks, implement anti-theft safety plans and quarterly inventory audits and have video cameras record the point of sale, among other things.

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