United States
Bulletproof Body Armour Ban Fails, Moves to California Supreme Court
San Francisco Chronicle
10 March 2010
SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court said Wednesday it will hear a prosecution appeal of a ruling throwing out a state law that bans anyone who has been convicted of a violent felony from owning body armor. The unanimous order was a victory for Attorney General Jerry Brown, who had asked the court to take up the case, and for San Francisco Police Chief George Gascón, who had urged Brown to appeal. The law, passed... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Tennessee Gun Collector, Drug Dealer Blows Whistle on US-Mexico Trade
Scripps Howard News Service (USA)
8 March 2010
The U.S. boss of a violent Mexican drug cartel who admitted ordering a hit on someone who ran afoul of him has been a busy man since authorities nabbed him and 34 kilograms of his cocaine at the border. He's traveled to Williamsport, Pa., to accompany his son on a Little League baseball trip. He's attended his sister's graduation from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. He's vacationed with his family in Panama City, Fla.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Chicago Mayor Recycles Gun Control Slate, Adds Pistol Microstamping
Chicago Sun-Times
8 March 2010
Mayor Daley today unveiled his annual package of gun control legislation and denied he's "swimming upstream" at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court has signaled its intention to overturn Chicago's handgun ban. Most of the ideas are re-treads, but there are a few new wrinkles. They include a proposal to make it a mandatory Class 1 felony to "knowingly sell or transfer a gun to a known gang member." Daley also wants to strengthen... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Chicago Mayor Makes Annual Call for Gun Control, Microstamping Pistols
Chicago Tribune
8 March 2010
Flanked by several parents who had lost children to gun violence, Mayor Richard Daley on Monday called for new laws to restrict gun sales and stiffen penalties for criminals who use them. Although Daley announces new gun-control initiatives every year, this year's announcement took on added significance because the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether to overturn the city's handgun ban. "The aggressiveness of the gun... ( gunpolicy.org )
Tanzania
Machine Gun Gang Invade Tanzanian Wedding Party, Kill 5, Steal Cattle
Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
6 March 2010
TERIME, Tanzania -- A wedding party was thrown into disarray in Tarime district on Thursday night, when armed gangsters stormed a homestead and shot dead five people. Six other people, including two children, were seriously injured in the attack that rocked Kimusi village, some 40 kilometres from Tarime Township. However, the bride and bridegroom, whose big day had started on a brighter note, with hundreds of their relatives... ( gunpolicy.org )
Nigeria
Armed Groups Fight with Home Made Guns, AK-47s in Nigeria Gang War
Daily Independent (Lagos)
2 March 2010
ENUGU/ABAKALIKI, Nigeria -- Residents are now counting their losses after the ceasefire that followed Ezza/Ezzilo communal clash in Ebonyi State, while security forces have started recovering arms. Though, the number of casualties and quantum of material losses are still not clear, the police command admits that much had been lost. The hostilities ceased shortly after Governor Martin Elechi in the company of the Police... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Another Landmark Constitutional Duel Over Right to Bear Guns in America
Wall Street Journal
2 March 2010
The Supreme Court today is the scene of a Constitutional duel in a case that will decide if the Second Amendment's guarantee of an individual right to bear arms applies to the states. The answer will determine whether the Court's landmark 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller is a hollow legal anomaly, or if it extends nationwide. In McDonald v. Chicago, the Justices will consider whether the Windy City's ban on handguns... ( gunpolicy.org )
Nigeria
Highway Robbery Gang Arrested with 16 Rifles, AK-47s in Nigeria
Vanguard (Lagos)
1 March 2010
ASABA, Nigeria -- Men of the Delta state police command have arrested a five-man gang along Patani/Ughelli road with dynamites and AK-47 rifles. State police command's spokesman, Mr. Charles Muka who confirmed the incident said that policemen on patrol duty successfully dislodged the gang before they could strike. According to him, "police command has recovered 16 assorted rifles seized from five members of the gang terrorizing... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Current Laws Not Stopping Illegal Gun Epidemic in East Bay, California
San Francisco Chronicle, Column
23 February 2010
Since the start of the year, Oakland police have confiscated more than 200 illegal guns during routine traffic stops and planned police arrests. In Richmond, police seized more than 25 guns in vehicles during routine traffic stops in January alone. Illegal guns have become an epidemic problem in the East Bay. It seems we've become numb to the constant gun violence and remain unfazed when the gunman turns out to be too young... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Court Injunctions New Trend in Controlling California Gang Gun Violence
San Francisco Chronicle
19 February 2010
In a bold move to reduce escalating gang violence, Oakland asked for a court order Thursday to severely restrict gang activity in a 100-block swath. Nineteen people police identified as gang members would be placed under a curfew and prohibited from associating with one another, loitering and possessing guns in the "safety zone," an area in North Oakland near the Berkeley and Emeryville borders, if the Alameda County Superior Court... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Texas Gang Smuggled 340 Guns from Houston to Mexican Drug Cartels
CNN
18 February 2010
HOUSTON, Texas - John Phillip Hernandez and a friend walked into the Collector's Firearms gun store in Houston, Texas, to buy a cache of weapons. Hernandez was wearing sunglasses and a dark T-shirt with the words "I Am the Scene" scrawled across the front. It was April 28, 2007. Collector's Firearms was one of two gun stores they visited that day as part of a scheme to arm Mexican cartels across the border, according to federal... ( gunpolicy.org )
Guatemala
Climate of Insecurity Prompts More Guatemalan Women to Carry Guns
Tico Times (Costa Rica)
11 February 2010
The climate of insecurity in Guatemala is forcing women to arm themselves to protect themselves and their families, the Central American nation's state newspaper, Diario de Centroamerica, reported Monday. The official newspaper said an increasing number of women of different professions are acquiring weapons and registering them with Guatemala's Arms and Munitions Control Office. Some 9,200 weapons have been registered... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Los Angeles Gang Counselor Shot Dead for Approaching 16yr-old Tagger
Associated Press
9 February 2010
LOS ANGELES - When Ronald "Loony" Barron urged a young graffiti tagger to put away his paint cans, he was doing what he viewed as his mission -- steering kids away from crime -- but he paid for it with his life. Los Angeles police arrested a 16-year-old boy on Tuesday, saying he would be charged with murder for shooting Barron to death Sunday night after Barron confronted him. A 40-year-old former member of the notorious... ( gunpolicy.org )
Ireland,United Kingdom
IRA Factions Surrender Their Guns for Destruction in N Ireland Amnesty
Associated Press
8 February 2010
DUBLIN -- A ruthless IRA splinter group, the Irish National Liberation Army, declared Monday it had fully disarmed but offered no regrets for committing some of the worst atrocities of the Northern Ireland conflict. "We make no apology for our part in the conflict," said INLA spokesman Martin McMonagle, who spent seven years in prison for plotting to plant bombs in England and assassinate Northern Ireland's senior Protestant politicians.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Anti-gun Violence Initiative Lowers Firearm Homicide in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton Daily News
7 February 2010
DAYTON, Ohio -- Sheena Avery squirms on the wooden pew and squints through her glasses as about 30 young men are led into a Montgomery County courtroom. All are on probation in late August and ordered in to hear a stern warning from police who suspect they are gang members. Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl calls the gathering a "call in." It's the cornerstone of a police initiative involving the FBI to reduce the area's... ( gunpolicy.org )
Ireland,United Kingdom
'Elaborately Armed' IRA Splinter Group Surrenders Weapons in Amnesty
Associated Press
6 February 2010
DUBLIN, Ireland - The Irish National Liberation Army, a ruthless IRA splinter group responsible for some of Northern Ireland's most notorious killings, said Saturday it has surrendered its weapons just days before an Anglo-Irish disarmament deadline is due to expire. Two representatives of the outlawed organization told The Associated Press that the INLA handed over weapons stockpiles to Northern Ireland's disarmament commission... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States,Mexico
Michigan Man Caught Smuggling Assault Weapons from Texas to Mexico
NBC-25 TV News (Michigan)
3 February 2010
A Michigan man is behind bars in Texas after being caught smuggling guns and bags filled with bulletproof vests into Mexico. U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted Pablo Leyva-Angiano in a car near the Roma International Bridge around 8:15 p.m. Thursday. Court records show that the agents saw two men come from nearby brush, go to the trunk of his and run towards the Rio Grande with two trash bags. The 26-year-old Grand Rapids, Michigan... ( gunpolicy.org )
Netherlands Antilles
Gun Battle Erupts, Revolver Found in Netherlands Antilles School Bus
Daily Herald (St Maarten)
30 January 2010
CUL DE SAC -- Police held nine teens and seized a revolver after a gang clash in Cul de Sac that led to a shooting from a school bus Friday afternoon. A gang from the district allegedly attacked the school bus near Cake House bakery and supermarket. A passenger retaliated, firing at least one gunshot from the bus window, police said. Witnesses remember hearing two gunshots. One didn't come from the bus. A stray bullet struck... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
California Schoolboy, Gang Member Wounded in Campus Shooting
San Francisco Chronicle
27 January 2010
SAN BRUNO, California - A Skyline College student who was shot and wounded at the San Bruno campus last year has been convicted of a gun violation, a prosecutor said today. Eric Brewer, 20, pleaded no contest Tuesday in San Mateo County Superior Court to a felony charge of carrying a loaded firearm in a public place. Judge Susan Etezadi placed him on three years of probation and gave him credit for time served in jail, about nine... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Random Shootings at Cars, Property Spook Residents of California Valley
Associated Press
26 January 2010
VALLEY SPRINGS, California - For the past month, someone in this Northern California town has been shooting a gun at cars and buildings. No one knows who might be doing it or why, or whether or when the person will strike again. It is one big, unsettling mystery. Since mid-December, the shooter has fired at six buildings and nine cars. In three cases motorists were driving as a bullet shattered a window or windshield or... ( gunpolicy.org )
Tanzania
Gang Kills 14 in Tanzanian Mass Shooting, 9 Suspects Arrested
Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
21 January 2010
Police have arrested nine people and recovered two guns and 68 rounds of ammunition in a crackdown after gangsters killed 14 people at the weekend. But the Director of Criminal Investigations, Mr Robert Manumba, said police were yet to confirm if the guns, which were found abandoned in a bush, were the ones used in the killings. He said law enforcers recover a sub mashine gun with 68 bullets and a shotgun with five bullets... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States,Jamaica
New York Traffickers Ship AK-47s, Submachine Guns, Pistols to Jamaica
Gleaner (Jamaica)
14 January 2010
With 14 days into the new year, the island's security forces have seized more than 1,000 assorted rounds of ammunition and at least 27 illegal firearms, including four high-powered weapons and a number of semi-automatic pistols. The cracks in the existing security system at Port Bustamante were tested on Monday, when a Jamaican connection in New York sent a shipment containing 12 illegal guns and more than 700 rounds of ammunition.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom
Ballistic Tracing Helps UK Police Reduce Gun Crime
BBC News
14 January 2010
The National Ballistics Intelligence Service (Nabis) works by combining advanced forensic technology and police intelligence information. It has played a key role in prosecuting "armourers", including Paul Alexander, who was jailed indefinitely last year. Nabis says guns are becoming difficult to obtain - meaning rival gangs must sometimes use the same weapons. The service, which was jointly established by the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Man Kills 2, Himself, in Rare Japanese Bar Shooting
Associated Press
12 January 2010
TOKYO,Japan - A man opened fire at a bar in western Japan on Tuesday, killing two people and wounding one seriously before taking his own life. Guns are strictly controlled in Japan, and shootings are rare. When such attacks do occur, they are often linked to gangsters known as yakuza. Police in Habikino City in Osaka prefecture were investigating the gunman's motive, police official Mitsuyuki Oda said. The Kyodo News agency... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States,Caribbean,Virgin Islands (US)
Gun Homicide Soars as Firearms, Drug Crime Swamp Caribbean Nations
St. Thomas Source
12 January 2010
With an all-time record of 56 homicides in the territory last year, the U.S. Virgin Islands was not spared by the Caribbean-wide surge in violent crime in 2009 that experts say was fueled by drug trafficking, the proliferation of gangs and an influx of guns. An average homicide rate of more than 30 per 100,000 residents already made the Caribbean and Latin America the most violent region in the world, according to the World Bank... ( gunpolicy.org )
Jamaica,United States
AK-47s, Submachine Guns Smuggled to Jamaican Gangs from New York
Associated Press
12 January 2010
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Authorities in Jamaica have arrested two men and a woman they say helped smuggle 12 high-powered weapons and 700 rounds of ammunition from New York. Police Inspector Jubert Llewellyn says the items arrived inside an air compressor tank. He says a telescopic lens and 28 magazines were also among the items seized at a warehouse Monday. Llewellyn said Tuesday that local police are investigating the case... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom
Gun Tracing Helps to Crack Down on UK Crime
BBC News
11 January 2010
A firearms database has linked more than 350 guns with crimes in its first year of operation in England and Wales. The National Ballistics Intelligence Service (Nabis) works by combining advanced forensic technology and police intelligence information. It has played a key role in prosecuting "armourers", including Paul Alexander, who was jailed indefinitely last year. Nabis says guns are becoming difficult to obtain... ( gunpolicy.org )
Guatemala,Costa Rica,Mexico,United States
Latin America to Test US Gun-Tracking System
USA Today
6 January 2010
MEXICO CITY -- Police in Latin America will soon have access to a Spanish version of a U.S. gun-tracking system that could widen efforts to hunt down crime suspects and weapons traffickers. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said Wednesday that it is about to begin testing a Spanish-language version of eTrace, the computer system that helps police trace who buys U.S. firearms. "This is to allow... ( gunpolicy.org )
Philippines
Maguidanao Massacre Suspect Pleads Not Guilty
Associated Press
5 January 2010
MANILA,Philippines - A member of a powerful political clan on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the Philippines' worst election massacre of 57 people, including journalists and members of a rival's family. Andal Ampatuan Jr., a town mayor in southern Maguindanao province where his family ruled unopposed for years, has been initially charged with 41 counts of murder in the Nov. 23 attack on an election caravan in the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Trinidad & Tobago
Gun Homicide Rose 1,000-fold During Last Decade in Trinidad & Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago Express
3 January 2010
Eastern Port of Spain has been labelled as "among the most dangerous places on the planet" by an international research body that tracks the growth of small arms and crime. In its report dated December 31, 2009, the Small Arms Survey of Switzerland explored the rise of criminal gangs and gangster-styled killings in Trinidad and Tobago and concluded the country's gun problems were not going to go away. The 53-page report... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gang Shooting Suspect Gets 5yrs for Possessing Ammunition in Baltimore
Baltimore Sun
24 December 2009
A Baltimore man, who authorities believe was part of a drug organization whose feuding with rivals may have led to several killings and the shooting of 12 people at a cookout this summer, was sentenced to four years in federal prison Wednesday for being a felon in possession of ammunition. Terrell Allen, 36, pleaded guilty in September, two months after agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms executed a search warrant... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico
Texan Mayor Escapes Mexican Restaurant Shooting, One Woman Killed
Associated Press
22 December 2009
PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico - Gunmen sprayed bullets at a restaurant Tuesday where the mayor of a Texas border town was eating with a Mexican state attorney general and other officials, police said. A woman leaving the building was killed. Coahuila state Attorney General Jesus Torres and Chad Foster, mayor of Eagle Pass across the border from Piedras Negras, were unharmed, according to police officers at the scene. Foster was... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico
Mexican Drug Cartel Shoots Family of Military Man in Revenge for Raid
Associated Press
22 December 2009
MEXICO CITY, Mexico - Assailants on Tuesday gunned down the mother, aunt and siblings of a marine killed in a raid that took out one of Mexico's most powerful cartel leaders -- sending a chilling message to troops battling the drug war: You go after us, we wipe out your families. The brazen pre-dawn slayings came just hours after the navy honored Melquisedet Angulo as a national hero at a memorial service. "The message... ( gunpolicy.org )
Philippines
16 More Murder Charges Laid After Political Mass Shooting in Philippines
Associated Press
21 December 2009
MANILA, Philippines - Government prosecutors filed 16 more murder charges Monday against the member of a powerful clan who allegedly led last month's massacre of political rivals and journalists in the southern Philippines. At least 57 people were brutally killed with guns and machetes, many of their bodies buried by backhoe, on Nov. 23 in southern Maguidanao province. One body remains unidentified, preventing an indictment, but... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
6 Bodies Found, Evidence of Mass Shooting with Assault Rifles in Mexico
Associated Press
18 December 2009
MEXICO CITY, Mexico - Police found six bullet-ridden, decomposing bodies Friday near a highway leading to a Mexican resort on the Gulf of California. The six men were found half-buried on a dirt road off the highway frequently used by tourists from Arizona to reach the Puerto Penasco resort, widely known as Rocky Point, according to Sonora state police. The men's identities and the motive for their killing have not been... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Sydney Men Charged with Alleged Manufacture of Submachine Guns
Australian Associated Press
11 December 2009
Two men, including a bikie, have been charged over the manufacture of illegal firearms after police seized rifles, knuckle dusters and firearm parts in Sydney. Officers raided a home in Charles Street, Blacktown, about 4.30pm yesterday, police said. Police allege illegal submachine guns, lightweight automatics or semi-automatic weapons were being made at the home. A 43-year-old man was arrested and police seized... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Licensed Australian Gun Dealer, Outlaw Biker Face 100+ Firearm Charges
Illawarra Mercury (New South Wales)
9 December 2009
A firearms dealer will appear in a Southern Highlands court early next year charged with 101 firearms-related offences. Detectives from Strike Force Raptor, established to target outlaw motorcycle gangs, issued the 63-year-old with a court attendance notice yesterday afternoon. He is facing three counts of being a licensed firearms dealer failing to make quarterly return; 95 counts of being a firearms dealer failing to... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
First Youth Faces 3-10yrs Under Chicago's Strict New 'Gang Gun' Law
ABC News (USA)
6 December 2009
CHICAGO -- Chicago police say an 18-year-old gang member is the first person charged under a state gun law that Governor Quinn signed Thursday. Kirk Craan was cited for unlawful use of a weapon, possessing a firearm with a defaced serial number, and possessing ammunition without having a valid state firearms owner ID card. He is charged under the Valadez law, which requires a sentence of 3 to 10 years in prison for a gang... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Prosecutors Vow to Stem Flood of US-Mexico Border Gun Smuggling
Latin American Herald Tribune (Caracas) / EFE
3 December 2009
PHOENIX -- The head-on fight against weapons trafficking along the border with Mexico is one way to weaken the drug cartels, according to U.S. attorneys general assembled at their national convention on Wednesday. "The United States has increased its efforts to halt the flow of weapons toward Mexico," Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told Efe. "The weapons are used by the cartels to carry out violent acts and try... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Mexico-US Gun Traffic Exposed as Feds Visit 1100 Licensed Gun Dealers
Government Executive (USA)
1 December 2009
U.S. officials estimate that more than 90 percent of the cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines that enter the United States are funneled through Mexico across the Southwest border. A less frequently cited figure is equally alarming to anyone living south of the border: Ninety percent of the weapons seized from the drug cartels by Mexican authorities are traced to the United States. While the cartels are moving drugs north, arms traffickers... ( gunpolicy.org )
Jamaica
AK-47 Killing, Helicopter Gun Battle, Cops, Undertakers Shot in Jamaica
Radio Jamaica, Transcript
30 November 2009
There is a strong police/military presence in the volatile Canterbury community in St. James, which was the scene of several gun battles on Sunday. The series of incidents began unfolding just before when a group of men chased a construction worker along King Street into a gully and shot him several times. The men tried to escape in a waiting car but crashed into a wall when they were intercepted by the police. They... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Drive-by AK-47 Killer Another Iraq Veteran from Notorious US Army Unit
Colorado Springs Gazette
18 November 2009
A jury today found a Fort Carson soldier guilty on all counts in a pair of drive-by shootings that left two people dead and one injured. The eight-woman, four-man jury took nearly seven hours to find Jomar Falu-Vives, a 25-year-old Iraq war veteran, guilty of first-degree murder in the June 6, 2008, deaths of Amairany "Mayra" Cervantes, 18 and Cesar Ramirez-Ibanez, 20. The couple was placing garage sale signs in their southeast... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Washington State Gun Show Dealers Feed Weapons to Mexican Cartels
Yakima Herald-Republic (Washington)
17 November 2009
YAKIMA, Washington -- ATF agent Jessie Summers tried to deal with misconceptions before he talked about the illegal gun trade in Central Washington. "We're not here to take anybody's guns," he told a group of city and law enforcement officials from across the state gathered at the Yakima Convention Center. "The image of us being jackbooted thugs doesn't hold water." Not that Summers is worried so much about public image... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Bush Aide Recommends US Assault Rifle Ban to Slow Mexican Drug War
Washington Times
17 November 2009
The former head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection called Monday for the U.S. to reinstitute the ban on assault weapons and take other measures to rein in the war between Mexico and its drug cartels, saying the violence has the potential to bring down legitimate rule in that country. Former CBP Commissioner Robert C. Bonner also called for the United States to more aggressively investigate U.S. gun sellers and tighten security... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Mexico Border Control Task Force Seeks US Ban on Assault Weapons
Washington Post
13 November 2009
A binational task force on U.S.-Mexico border issues will call Friday on the Obama administration and Congress to reinstate an expired ban on assault weapons and for Mexico to overhaul its frontier police and customs agencies to mirror the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The recommendations are among a broad set of security, trade, development and environmental proposals that come as President Obama and his Mexicans counterpart,... ( gunpolicy.org )
South America,Central America
Latin America Plagued by Glut of Guns, Homicide, Armed Crime: Report
United Press International
11 November 2009
GENEVA -- Latin America faces an unrelenting onslaught on its citizens by a glut of small arms, responsible for thousands of homicides every year by gangs, organized crime and vigilantes. Small-arms stockpiles that have permeated Central and South American societies are now an extremely serious threat because of the fatalities they cause in a region that has not had any major conflict since the 19th century, the author of a major... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom
Former UK Army Sergeant Made Guns for Gangs, Jailed 'Indefinitely'
Telegraph (UK)
7 November 2009
A former Army sergeant, Paul Alexander, who made guns for gangs operating in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham, has been jailed indefinitely. Detectives said Alexander, 53, was a "significant" supplier and had been tracked down following the launch of an operation against gangs in the wake of the shooting of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Liverpool two years ago. Police said they found a gun factory at a house Alexander rented... ( gunpolicy.org )
Japan
Yakuza Gunman Dead, Three Injured in Rare Japanese Shooting
BBC News
6 November 2009
A gunman in Japan has taken his own life after wounding three people in Yokohama, outside Tokyo, police said. The gunman had taken refuge in a building in a residential area which the police surrounded. A police spokesman said one of the injured men was in a critical condition and the other two were lightly wounded. Japanese media reported the violence appeared to be gang related. Shootings are rare in Japan, where... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
600 Seized Guns Just a 'Tiny Fraction' of US-Mexico Cartel Weapon Flow
Associated Press
3 November 2009
SAN DIEGO -- U.S. authorities on Tuesday reported a spike in seizures of guns and cash along the Mexican border since they began assigning more agents to stem the flow of southbound contraband. Nearly 600 illegal weapons were seized along the border by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials from March through September, an increase of more than 50 percent from the same period of... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Illegal Alien Bought Guns for Mexican Drug Cartel at Kansas Gun Show
Kansas City Infozine (Missouri)
29 October 2009
KANSAS CITY, Missouri -- United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Guatamalan national pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally possessing firearms that he purchased at a local gun show and intended to sell to an intermediary who would deliver them to Mexico. Mynor Guerra, 25, a citizen of Guatamala who was residing in Overland Park, Kan., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Firearm Registration Permits String of US-Mexico Gun Running Arrests
Las Vegas Sun (Nevada)
28 October 2009
The man known as "Zorra" is the latest catch for federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents in Las Vegas. Five days ago he pleaded guilty in federal court, and when he is sentenced in January he faces up to five years in prison. The agents placed Claudio Caesar "Zorra" Penunuri at the center of a gun smuggling ring from here to Southern California and then south into Mexico. He provided the more than $100,000 in cash... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom
Police Boss in Rapid U-Turn: London Bobbies with Guns 'Not an Option'
Evening Standard (London)
27 October 2009
The Met this afternoon halted the deployment of regular armed patrols in London gun crime hotspots. The announcement came after the Evening Standard revealed the anger of residents' groups and Metropolitan Police Authority members. Opponents said there had been no consultation and there were fears it could lead to the arming of all police. Pilot patrols from the CO19 firearms unit have been sent to estates in Tottenham,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Nevada Gun Dealers Sold 28 Weapons to Trafficker for Mexico Drug Cartel
Las Vegas Sun (Nevada)
26 October 2009
A man has pleaded guilty to using straw buyers to purchase at least 28 rifles and handguns in Las Vegas, knowing that the weapons were going to be taken to Mexico for criminal activity, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of Nevada said today. Claudio Caesar Penunuri, 34, pleaded guilty Friday before U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to dealing in firearms without a license, Bogden said. Penunuri, also known as "Zorra" and... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom
Britain Deploys Permanently Armed Police in London Gang Strongholds
Associated Press
23 October 2009
LONDON -- Wielding submachine guns and pistols, British police are making rare armed patrols in crime-blighted London neighborhoods -- a change in law enforcement tactics that may prompt calls for the wider use of weapons by the country's traditionally unarmed Bobbies. London's police department said Friday that a new armed unit is carrying out regular sweeps of districts riven by gun battles between rival drug gangs. Unlike... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom
Armed British Police Officers Go on Routine Foot Patrol for the First Time
Telegraph (UK)
22 October 2009
A hand-picked team from CO19, the Metropolitan Police's elite firearms unit, will walk the beat in gun crime hotspots where armed gangs have turned entire estates into "no go" zones. Local politicians and anti-gun campaigners have reacted with anger at the news that the officers will carry Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns -- capable of firing up to 800 rounds-per-minute -- and Glock semi-automatic pistols. CO19 currently... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
South Australian 'Police Computer' Counted Non-existent Handguns
Advertiser (Adelaide)
20 October 2009
A SA Police computer program counted firearms which had been destroyed, causing incorrect data on registered handguns to be made public, it has emerged. It was reported today that there were 41,519 registered handguns in South Australia, but it has now been revealed that this figure was based on wrong information given by SA Police to the Australian Institute of Criminology. AdelaideNow has been told that more than 20,000... ( gunpolicy.org )
India,China,Myanmar,Laos,Cambodia,Thailand
China Small Arms Bazaar Fuelling North East Indian Insurgents, Maoists
Hueiyen Lanpao (India)
19 October 2009
DIMAPUR -- Small arms wielded by Northeast militants and Maoists invariably find their way in from Yunan province of southern China through the Chin people in Myanmar. But forces handling security this side of the India-Myanmar border have "no reasons yet" to suspect Beijing's official involvement in the gun-running racket. Chinese copies of weapons such as the American M-16 rifles and Russian Kalashnikovs -- AK-47s and AK-56s... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Mexico-US Task Force Urges Obama to Reinstate Assault Weapon Ban
Associated Press
14 October 2009
MEXICO CITY -- The United States should reinstate a Clinton-era ban on assault weapons to prevent such guns from reaching Mexican drug cartels, former officials from both countries said in a report released Tuesday. The group, which includes two former U.S. ambassadors to Mexico, also said the U.S. should do more to stop the smuggling of firearms and ammunition into Mexico by stepping up investigations of gun dealers and more strictly... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
Rare US-Made Machine Gun Found in Canadian River Linked to Killings
CTV-BC TV News
8 October 2009
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- A fisherman in Richmond, B.C., recently reeled in a most unusual -- and troubling -- catch. Bobbing down the Fraser River, encased in a black waterproof bag, was a rare MAC-11 machine gun equipped with a silencer. Forensic tests have linked the illegal gun to a number of gang-related shootings in the Vancouver area, Vancouver police Insp. Brad Desmarais told reporters on Thursday. "This... ( gunpolicy.org )
Pakistan
Gang Charged with Gun Trafficking, Forging Firearm Licences in Karachi
Daily Times (Lahore)
8 October 2009
KARACHI -- The Crime Investigation Department (CID) on Wednesday arrested six persons including the group's leader who was also an activist of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H). The arrest of former worker of the MQM-H Jibran Ali Butt and his five accomplices named Mohammad Hamid, Laiq Ahmed, Sarfaraz Ali, Abdul Ghaffar and Usman was made during a raid conducted at Sir Shah Suleman Road near Civic Centre. He said... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
NYPD Sting Busts Gang Accused of 'Iron Pipeline' Interstate Gun Running
North Country Gazette (New York)
7 October 2009
QUEENS -- Four individuals have been indicted in connection with an illegal firearms ring that sold approximately 30 handguns and other weapons and numerous rounds of ammunition to undercover police officers posing as black market buyers over a nine-month period. The price allegedly paid for each weapon ranged from $500 to $1,300 with most weapons typically going for about $1,000. "These defendants brazenly attempted to... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
Guns Smuggled from Texas Found at Toronto Crime Scenes, Jury Hears
National Post (Toronto)
7 October 2009
A gun smuggling ring that led to the distribution of dozens of handguns from Texas to "the streets of Toronto" began with a meeting in a parking lot in Brantford, an Ontario Superior Court jury was told today. The Crown is alleging that the importer was Steven Lucas, a Brantford resident, who purchased the handguns that were smuggled into Canada by Earle Cook, expected to be the key prosecution witness at the trial. Mr.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States,United Nations,South America,Central America,Caribbean
Drugs, US Guns 'Gravest Problem' Facing Caribbean, Latin America
Caribbean Life (New York)
7 October 2009
A former Antigua and Barbuda diplomat has warned that unless the United States put measures in place to curb the trafficking of weapons and drugs through the region, the situation will worsen. Sir Ronald Sanders, who twice served as the Caribbean nation's High Commissioner of London said the issue of drugs, arms and crime is "the gravest problem" facing the countries of the Caribbean and Latin America -- with the exception of Cuba.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
74% of Unlicensed Gun Show Dealers 'Fail Integrity Test' in US Study
Washington Post
7 October 2009
Undercover investigators working on behalf of the New York City mayor's office repeatedly bought guns from unlicensed dealers at gun shows even though they disclosed they probably couldn't pass a background check. That finding is among those outlined in a 36-page report released Wednesday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office that documents alleged illegal gun sales by private and licensed dealers earlier this year at seven gun shows... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Guns Used in 55 Mexican Drug Cartel Shootings Traced to Texas Dealers
Houston Chronicle (Texas)
1 October 2009
High-powered guns purchased at Houston-area stores by a Gulf Cartel cell and smuggled across the border for the syndicate's bloody warfare have been traced to at least 55 killings in Mexico, including the deaths of police officers, civilians and gangsters, federal agents said Thursday. The recent tracking of firearms is the result of a four-month anti-cartel operation focused largely on Houston, which the federal government contends... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Feds Ramp Up Texas Team, Fight US-Mexico Gun Smuggling Flood
Associated Press
1 October 2009
HOUSTON -- A four-month effort to stop the flow of firearms from the U.S. to Mexican drug cartels has helped law enforcement disrupt various gun trafficking rings and gain a better understanding of how these groups try to avoid detection, officials announced Thursday. Many weapons seized south of the border are traced back to Houston, where 100 agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other personnel... ( gunpolicy.org )
Guatemala,United States
Nashville Cop Bought Handguns for Smuggling to Guatemala Drug Gang
Tennessean (Nashville)
29 September 2009
Five men, including a former Metro police officer, have been indicted in connection with an overseas gun smuggling scheme. According to an indictment made public Tuesday, the men conspired to buy semiautomatic pistols, revolvers and ammunition from Middle Tennessee gun dealers and ship them to Guatemala, where they were distributed to members of two South American drug cartels. In all, agents said, they managed to get 18... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom
DNA Found on Crime Guns Links More Killings to UK Weapon Maker
Birmingham Mail (UK)
26 September 2009
The fatal shooting of a student gunned down in a Birmingham street earlier this year has been linked to a firearms mastermind who armed UK street gangs. "Merchant of death" Paul Alexander illegally converted replica weapons into lethal guns and supplied the "assassination kits" to gangs in the north east for as little as £1,500-a-time. Two of the ex-soldier's weapons were involved in a vicious feud between gangs in Liverpool... ( gunpolicy.org )
Denmark
500 Illegal Firearms Seized from Gang of Danish Gun Enthusiasts
Politiken (Denmark)
25 September 2009
Northern Jutland police have infiltrated a major network of allegedly illegal weapons dealers and have confiscated 480 guns, among others firearms that have been used in the ongoing gang war in Copenhagen. Dept. Chief Superintendant Frank Olsen tells TV2News that 11 men have been arrested, adding that the men have denied trading in weapons, but have said that they have a big interest in firearms. According to the police,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gang Gunplay Kills Mom Protecting Kid as She Leaves Bronx Laundry
Daily News (New York)
23 September 2009
She was the most innocent of victims -- and died protecting her little boy. A single mom was struck and killed by a stray bullet Tuesday when she walked out of a Bronx laundermat, smack into the crossfire of a gang gunfight, police said. Aisha Santiago, 25, was hit in the chest as she attempted to take cover with her 9-year-old son on the doorstep of her building on E.146th St. in Mott Haven shortly before 3:30 p.m. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Bill Regulating Ammunition Sales Would Save Lives in California
Los Angeles Times / Capitol Journal
21 September 2009
Guns don't kill people, it's true. Bullets do. "Without ammo, a handgun is only good for pistol-whipping someone," notes Assemblyman Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). "Ammo is the lifeblood of a handgun." On Sept. 11, the last day of this year's regular legislative session, De Leon narrowly won final passage of a bill to regulate sales of handgun ammunition. The assemblyman has a long list of gang shooting horror... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada, United States
Gun Registration Nails US-Canada Arms Smuggler, His Criminal Buyers
National Post (Toronto)
18 September 2009
The armed men wore masks when they crowbarred their way into the Nguyen family's home near the spiralling roller coaster tracks of the Canada's Wonderland amusement park. One of them had a gun. He held it to the head of Manh Nguyen while his partner searched the home for valuables. The gun was a Taurus 85, a 38-calibre lightweight revolver with a 3-1/2-inch barrel. And like dozens of the handguns used by Ontario criminals,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom
Gunmaker to Liverpool Underworld, Torch Gun Maker Jailed for 20 Years
Times (UK)
12 September 2009
A judge called a gunmaker who crafted weapons for Merseyside's gangsters as a "dealer in death" as he jailed him at Liverpool Crown Court for 20 years. David Hampson, 44, who could transform a replica firearm into a handgun in 20 minutes, was caught in a 12-month police undercover operation. His speciality was converting miniature torches into single-shot weapons. Senior officers in Merseyside Police were jubilant at the severity... ( gunpolicy.org )
South America, Central America
Latin America: 'The More Guns, the More Violence,' UN Conference Told
Inter Press Service News Agency
10 September 2009
MEXICO CITY -- Traffic in light weapons and small arms is one of Latin America's major disarmament concerns, because they fuel urban violence, especially in countries like Mexico, Guatemala and Brazil. This is one of the issues on the agenda of the 62nd Annual Conference for Non-Governmental Organisations associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI/NGO), attended by 1,700 delegates from 75 countries... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Colorado-California Traffickers Bought Guns from Dealers, Sold to Gangs
Times-Herald (California)
6 September 2009
A former Solano County resident was among those arrested in an alleged illegal interstate firearms trafficking scheme, law enforcement officials said this week. The arrest of former Fairfield resident Travis Price and several others was the culmination of a six-month investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the local U.S. Attorney and the Fairfield Police Department, the announcement notes. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico, United States
US Must Stop Flow of Arms to Mexico, Says New US Ambassador
Associated Press
4 September 2009
MONTERREY, Mexico -- Washington's new ambassador to Mexico says the United States must stop the flow of weapons smuggled south across the border to improve security. Carlos Pascual says "we cannot continue to arm the cartels," referring to guns bought in the United States and sold to drug gangs in Mexico. Pascual also called for a solution for millions of undocumented workers in the United States. He spoke Friday... ( gunpolicy.org )
New Zealand
Licensed Gun Collector Sold 121 Handguns, Machine Guns to NZ Gangs
New Zealand Herald
29 August 2009
The last act in laying bare John Noel Mabey's big lie occurred on Tuesday but the danger to the public will go on for years. After two years, Mabey, 45, finally admitted in the Thames District Court that the burglary in which he claimed his entire collection of 121 restricted firearms (pistols, machine guns and military-style semi-automatics) was stolen, was an elaborate fake. Not that anyone had believed him for long.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Police Take 36 Guns, Assault Rifles, Ammunition from Queensland Bikies
Courier-Mail (Brisbane) / AAP
27 August 2009
Police raids on outlaw motorcycle gangs uncovered an arsenal of weapons, including semi-automatic AK-47s, handguns, silencers, detonators and ammunition. The discovery of the weapons cache, allegedly belonging to the Odins Warriors organisation, comes as the State Government tightens laws to crack down on the gangs, vowing to destroy them by tearing down clubhouses and banning members from socialising if there was evidence of illegal... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Pistol Club Members Open Safes, Give Handguns to Aussie Robbers
Herald Sun (Melbourne)
27 August 2009
Police are hunting armed bandits who have stolen more than $30,000 worth of guns in targeted home invasions in Melbourne's south-east. Police fear the guns could be sold on the black market or used to commit further violent crimes. The chilling ambush attacks on family homes in Trafalgar, on August 19, and Hampton Park, in June, are almost identical, with a crew of five masked men storming both houses in search for guns.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico
Mexico Destroys Thousands of Old Seized Guns, Holds Onto New Ones
Associated Press
26 August 2009
The Mexican army and prosecutors announced Tuesday they have started destroying 79,074 firearms seized a decade or more ago. They will hold on to tens of thousands more weapons seized during the current offensive against drug cartels. Authorities launched the program by destroying some weapons at a ceremony at a military base in Mexico City. The weapons being destroyed have all been held at government warehouses for years.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Home Invaders Target Australian Gun Club Members for Their Handguns
Courier-Mail (Brisbane)
26 August 2009
Victorian police fear a gang has built up a cache of weapons from two separate home invasions in which guns and ammunition were stolen. Police believe the raids at Trafalgar, in the state's southeast, and at Hampton Park, southeast of Melbourne, are linked. On August 19, five men, all wearing balaclavas and one brandishing a gun, forced their way into the Trafalgar home at about 9.15pm. Police say the bandits forced... ( gunpolicy.org )
Philippines
British Yacht Skipper 'Smuggled' 50 Israeli Assault Rifles to Philippines
Philippine Daily Inquirer
25 August 2009
MANILA, Philippines -- Police on Tuesday seized the private yacht allegedly used by a group of gun smugglers to transport a cache of illegal firearms here, police said. Authorities also apprehended the captain of M/Y Mou Man Tai, British national Derek Colin Gordon Nevill, Superintendent James Brillantes of Puerto Galera police said in an interview Tuesday. The private yacht was found along the coast of Bukete Island in... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Canada
Chicago Gun Shop Owner Smuggled 234 Firearms to Canadian Gangs
Toronto Star (Ontario)
24 August 2009
The trail of guns led from Chicago to Guelph, where a year ago a coked-up man went berserk and fired shots into his neighbour's apartment and car. Then it continued to Ottawa, where a 26-year-old man was fatally shot after answering a knock on an apartment door just before Christmas. A month later, in Vaughan near Weston and Rutherford Rds., three residents were held hostage at gunpoint during a home invasion. Two men pleaded... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Mexico
Arms Traffickers Recruit Women Buyers for US-Mexico 'Iron River' of Guns
USA Today
23 August 2009
HOUSTON -- Ann Zarate may be one of the most unlikely players to be swept up in Mexico's unrelenting drug war. The 24-year-old native of Texas' Rio Grande Valley is described by her attorney Jodi Goodwin as a "quiet, super sweet" woman who ultimately could not resist the promise of easy money for precious little work. Zarate was sentenced earlier this year to 10 months in federal prison as a buyer in a gun-trafficking ring... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico, United States
Leaders Pledge to Trace, Stem US-to-Mexico Drug Cartel Gun Running
Reuters
13 August 2009
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- U.S. and Mexican officials signed an agreement on Thursday meant to help stem the illegal flow of U.S.-made guns and ammunition that has allowed Mexican drug gangs to kill their rivals in record numbers. The letter of intent signed in San Antonio would see U.S. federal agencies share firearms trafficking information with the attorney general of Mexico, with the aim of tracing illegal weapons and prosecuting... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada, Mexico, United States
Canadian PM Avoids 'Iron River' of US Guns Smuggled to Mexico, Canada
Toronto Star (Ontario), Editorial
9 August 2009
When Stephen Harper, Barack Obama and Felipe Calderon, the "three amigos" leading Canada, the United States and Mexico, saddle up for their summit in Guadalajara today and tomorrow, they will gallop through an agenda that has seldom been more rugged. From trade protectionism to climate change, swine flu and immigration issues, there will be scant time in the two-day meeting to pause for breath. But there's likely to be a glaring... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom, Europe, Iraq, Afghanistan
British Troops Smuggle Guns from Iraq, Afghanistan to Europe, UK
Birmingham Post (UK)
3 August 2009
British troops are smuggling guns and drugs into the UK and Europe and selling them on to criminal gangs, a former soldier from the Midlands has claimed. The ex-serviceman said it was "megaeasy" to bring back weapons from Iraq and Afghanistan and said some soldiers had become adept at hiding weapons and shipping them back from the frontline. Handguns are brought back inside field radios and tool boxes -- while grenades... ( gunpolicy.org )
Ireland
Gang Shootings Raise Murder Rate, Weapon Offences Down in Ireland
Independent (Ireland)
1 August 2009
Gangland shootings have almost doubled the murder rate, according to the latest quarterly figures. The Central Statistics Office figures show there were 15 murders in the second quarter of the year, an increase of seven on the corresponding period last year. Gun crime where a shot was fired is also up by 39pc, from 49 incidents of discharging a firearm to 68, and robberies, extortion and hijacking offences have increased... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico, United States
Crackdown on Mexico Weapon Smuggling Hindered by Lax US Gun Laws
National Public Radio (USA)
1 August 2009
For years, Mexican drug traffickers have used gun stores and gun shows in the U.S. as their weapons supermarkets. The world's most murderous drug mafias operate on a border with a country that has the most permissive gun laws in the developed world. Mexican President Felipe Calderon met with President Obama in April and asked the U.S. to do more to curb the flow of weapons smuggled into Mexico. The crackdown has begun, but it's... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Mexico
4 Arrested in California Arms Trafficking Bust, 1 Linked to Mexico Cartel
Associated Press
31 July 2009
LOS ANGELES -- A judge refused to grant bail for four men arrested Friday for their roles in an alleged arms trafficking ring, with one man claiming he is a member of a notorious Mexican drug cartel, federal authorities said. Edgardo Prado Casteneda, Vicente Garcia, Scott Blanks and Victor Velasquez will be arraigned in upcoming weeks, said U.S. attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek. Casteneda and Velasquez face drug and weapons-related... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Increasingly Brazen Assault Weapon Shootings Chill Boston Police
Boston Globe
30 July 2009
The gang shoot-out that rained gunfire and smoke on a quiet Dorchester street this week disturbed police on many levels: the seemingly new height in disregard for neighborhood safety, the fact that a 12-year-old girl watching TV inside a nearby house was shot through the leg. But even more alarming: At least one of the weapons used in the gunfire was an AK-47 assault rifle, the fourth time in three weeks that one had been found... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada, United States
Most Guns Used to Commit Crimes in Canada Are Smuggled from US
Canadian Press
28 July 2009
A new study suggests most of the guns used to commit crimes in Canada have been smuggled in from the United States. The study, published Wednesday in the Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, found that the best available data suggests that about two-thirds of crime guns seized in Canada have their origin south of the border. It's a situation the Americans would be unlikely to accept if it were reversed, said one of the report's... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom, England & Wales
London Schoolgirl, 13, Arrested After Assault Rifle Found in Her Wardrobe
Daily Mail (UK)
22 July 2009
A 13-year-old schoolgirl has been arrested by armed police -- after they discovered a high-powered assault rifle in her wardrobe. The teenager was taken into custody yesterday morning after the automatic machine gun -- typically capable of firing up to 800 rounds-per-minute -- was seized at a flat in Croydon, South London. Around 15 officers carrying sub-machine guns, hydraulic battering rams and combat shields raced to... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada, United States
Licensed US Gun Dealer Went Bad, Smuggled 200 Handguns to Canada
National Post (Toronto)
22 July 2009
U. S. prosecutors are seeking a 10-year prison sentence for a Chicago gunrunner who smuggled more than 200 firearms into Canada and sold them to a Toronto organized crime ring. Ugur Yildiz sold the handguns to a Toronto man known as Mikey at a meeting at a Canadian strip club in 2006, the prosecutors allege in a sentencing memorandum filed in U. S. District Court. The guns then made their way into the hands of gang members and drug... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada, United States
Winnipeg Worries About 22 Crime Guns Smuggled from US by Footballer
Winnipeg Free Press (Manitoba)
16 July 2009
Nearly all of the 22 high-powered handguns smuggled into Winnipeg as part of a cross-border crime network are still missing -- a fact that has police and justice officials bracing for further bloodshed. "It's certainly not inconceivable that one of these guns smuggled across the border has already been used in a homicide," Mike Sutherland, president of the Winnipeg Police Association, told the Free Press Wednesday. "We... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Texas FBI Agent, 'Gun Nut' Provided .50cal Rifle in Mexico Drug Shootout
El Paso Times (Texas)
15 July 2009
EL PASO -- The FBI agent charged with illegal arms trading has been linked to a rifle found at a gunbattle that killed seven people, including a captain in the Mexican army. John Thomas Shipley, 39, was indicted in federal court last week on charges that he sold weapons without a dealer's license on several Web sites and at gun shows. An ATF search warrant unsealed Tuesday stated that Shipley sold a .50-caliber rifle to... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada, United States
Promising Athlete Caught Smuggling US Guns to Canada, Selling Drugs
Winnipeg Free Press (Manitoba)
15 July 2009
Nothing in Thomas Scher's voice hinted at the bombshell he was about to drop when the student called home to Winnipeg in February from North Dakota, where he was attending Minot State University. "Are you sitting down?" Thomas asked his father, Chris Scher, who thought the phone call might have been good news involving his son's girlfriend. Instead, Scher told his father he was facing charges for his part in a cross-border... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada, United States
Jailed Students Bought 22 Handguns in US, Smuggled them to Canada
Winnipeg Free Press (Manitoba)
15 July 2009
WINNIPEG -- A young Winnipeg man attending a North Dakota college to play football has admitted to fuelling street crime in his home city by helping smuggle nearly two-dozen high-powered guns across the Canadian border in exchange for cash and drugs, according to court documents. Thomas Scher, 20, was sentenced in an American courtroom Monday to 366 days jail, in addition to three years of supervised probation, after pleading guilty... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico, United States
Mexico, US Sign Protocol to Slow Flood of American Guns to Drug Cartels
Associated Press
13 July 2009
MEXICO CITY -- Mexico and the United States have agreed on a protocol for sharing information in arms trafficking cases. Top officials of both countries say the guidelines are aimed at helping them bring more cases against weapons traffickers. Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora made the announcement Monday at a joint news conference with John T. Morton, the assistant secretary of homeland security for U.S. Immigration... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Chicago Gun Violence, Gangs and Handguns: Where's the Outrage?
Chicago Tribune, Opinion
10 July 2009
The long 4th of July weekend featured glorious fireworks along the lakefront and deadly gunfire in inner-city neighborhoods. Chicago tallied 63 shootings, one stabbing and 11 fatal shootings. That's just the latest carnage. The city logged 202 homicide victims in the first six months of 2009: 88 percent were male, 78 percent were black, 44 percent were between the ages of 20 and 30, and 84 percent were shot to death. During the... ( gunpolicy.org )
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