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Brazil,Iceland,United States,United Kingdom,Denmark

Low Rates of Gun Homicide in Iceland Despite High Gun Ownership

16 May 2013

BBC News

Even though I grew up in New England, there was something novel about seeing an Icelandic blizzard. It was paralysing, with epic wind gusts that made snowflakes feel like razors. As I dragged my bags along Reykjavik's snowy pavement, an older man in a Jeep pulled alongside me. "You want to get in?" he asked. It sounded crazy. Why would I ever get in a stranger's car? Despite everything I was taught about riding in cars with strangers, I climbed in the backseat. And... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: BBC News

37457

Norway

Norwegian Police Warn of Rise in Armed Gang Violence

14 May 2013

Views And News From Norway

As Norway moves into summer, gang-related violence is on the rise in the capital. Tension is so high between Oslo's rival gangs, police warn, that armed battles can break out at any time. Police worry that Oslo's gang culture has become more widespread and more complex. Newspaper Aftenposten reported on Tuesday that gang battles motivated by revenge, territory and drug-related profits are on the increase. Weapon seizures Police confiscated a total of 22 firearms... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Views And News From Norway

37447

Spain,England & Wales

Spanish Cops Bust UK Drug Gang with Guns

13 May 2013

Local (Spain)

Spanish and British police have nabbed a hashish-smuggling ring that hid hundreds of kilos of drugs in electrical transformers before shipping them off to the UK. Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and Spain's national police have arrested nine people and seized 322 kilos of hashish from an international organization that smuggled drugs inside industrial electrical transformers. The joint investigation found that the drugs were purchased in Spain then... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Local (Spain)

37439

Russia

Russian Boy Unintentionally Kills Brother with Unregistered Gun

12 May 2013

Reuters

A 7-year-old Russian boy told investigators he had shot and killed his 4-year-old brother by accident with their grandfather's rifle on Sunday, law enforcement authorities said. The boy said he and his brother had found the gun under a bed in their grandparents' house in the Siberian town of Bukachacha and were playing with it on the porch while the adults slept, the federal Investigative Committee said. The boy said he accidentally pulled the trigger while trying to... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Reuters

37455

Turkey

Police Report Shows 80 Percent of Guns Unregistered in Turkey

11 May 2013

World Bulletin (Istanbul)

A report recently drafted by the National Police Department's Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department shows that almost 80 percent of guns that police seized from individuals in incidents threatening public security from 2010-2012 were unregistered. According to the report, the types of firearms confiscated in police operations over the course of past five years were manufactured guns (51 percent), handmade guns (33 percent), blank guns turned into real guns (16... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: World Bulletin (Istanbul)

37431

European Union,Turkey

Gun Licensing Law Changes Considered in Turkey

10 May 2013

Today's Zaman (Istanbul)

A bill recently submitted to Parliament could give former gun license holders who forgot to renew their licenses another chance. The current Law on Firearms, Knives and other Weapons states that gun carrying and keeping licenses shall be valid for five years following the date of confirmation and shall be renewed once every five years on condition of payment of the renewal charge. The license holder is also required to inform the public institution that has issued the... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Today's Zaman (Istanbul)

37454

Germany

German Man Kills Wife Then Shoots, Injures 3 Neighbours

10 May 2013

Local (Germany)

German police are picking through the remnants of a blood bath after a man shot dead his wife, and then roamed the neighbourhood ringing door bells and shooting people who answered. He then shot himself and is in a coma. Aachen public prosecutor Robert Deller said on Thursday that the man turned his gun on himself before the police could arrest him. The 63-year-old man from the town of Langerwehe in North Rhine-Westphalia shot dead his 64-year-old wife with a... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Local (Germany)

37430

Turkey

Turkey Plans Ban on Guns at Bars and Cafes, Safety Training for Owners

9 May 2013

Today's Zaman (Istanbul)

According to a new regulation, people carrying guns will not be allowed as a security measure to enter entertainment venues such as bars, cafés, night clubs and places where wedding ceremonies are held, Interior Minister Muammer Güler announced on Wednesday. Under the regulation, Güler told reporters, people who want to buy guns will receive training on how to use them safely. Moreover, those carrying weapons will be denied entrance to entertainment venues such as... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Today's Zaman (Istanbul)

37435

Libya,Mexico,Germany

German Arms Firm Illegally Sold Weapons to Mexico

7 May 2013

InSight Crime (Bogota)

A German arms manufacturer has admitted to illegally selling thousands of rifles to Mexico, where the weapons were reportedly used to commit human rights violations. Heckler & Koch, which produces weapons such as pistols, machine guns, and grenade launchers, is under investigation by German authorities for exporting G36 rifles to several Mexican states where Germany prohibits gun sales, due to human rights concerns. The company previously claimed it had only ever... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: InSight Crime (Bogota)

37418

Spain,United States

US, Spanish Gun Lovers Download 3D Gun Plans 50,000 Times First Day

7 May 2013

New York Daily News

The first downloadable gun has gone viral. The plastic firearm that can be churned out on a 3-D printer and easily assembled was downloaded at least 50,000 times Monday, according to the self-described anarchist who made it available for free online. Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed, a collective of gun advocates, said the most downloads were done in Spain followed by the United States. The prospect of terrorists getting hold of the guns by clicking a computer... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: New York Daily News

37416

Turkey

Turkey Launches Locally Made Rifles, Aims for $100M in Exports

6 May 2013

Today's Zaman (Istanbul)

ISTANBUL - Sarsılmaz Firearms Industry, the leading private producer of guns and rifles in Turkey, introduced on Monday the country's first domestically produced infantry rifles as well as new generation pistols, firearms with which the company is targeting to reach the $100 million export mark in the next three years. The 133-year-old company invested TL 14 million in its new products and plans to increase its investment to TL 27 million in line with an expected... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Today's Zaman (Istanbul)

37413

Europe,United States

3D Gun Fired in US But Officials Worried Over Risks for Crime, Youth

6 May 2013

BBC News, Video

The world's first gun made with 3D printer technology has been successfully fired in the US. The controversial group who created the firearm plan to make the blueprints available online. Anti-gun advocates have criticised the project and Europol, Europe's law enforcement agency, said it was closely monitoring the development. Rebecca Morelle... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: BBC News

37409

Sweden

Man Charged After Swedish Woman Dies in Shooting Game

3 May 2013

Local (Sweden)

A Swedish woman has died after playing what appeared to be a game of Russian roulette in western Sweden. The 23-year-old man who provided the weapon was charged for manslaughter on Thursday. The incident occurred in mid-March in an apartment in Flatås, Gothenburg, where emergency service workers found the 48-year-old woman seriously injured. The 23-year-old man is believed to have brought out a gun during an evening of drinking, loaded it with one live round, put it... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Local (Sweden)

37408

Canada,China,Germany

Canadian Govt Budgets to Seize Rifles Easily Converted to Automatic

1 May 2013

Global News (Canada)

Six years after approving German-made rifles that can be converted to machine guns "in minutes" – guns that by law should have been prohibited to begin with – the federal government will spend up to $260,000 buying them from their owners. In February 2007, the RCMP classified the SSD BD38, a semi-automatic replica of a German Second World War-era sub-machine gun, as a 'restricted' firearm, meaning that it had the same legal status as a handgun. That classification... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Global News (Canada)

37400

Switzerland,Kosovo

Drunk Kosovo Man Shoots, Kills Wife After Divorce Request

1 May 2013

Croatian Times

A Kosovan man who shot his Swiss wife dead at the bus stop when she refused to consider changing her mind about divorcing him - and then went for a beer at a local pub - has claimed her death was her own fault. Afrim Mujaj, 45, then sat calmly watching as ambulances sped by in a bid to try and save the life of his 35-year-old wife Mirvete in Riniken, Switzerland. And as emergency services tried in vain to keep her alive - the court heard he bought rounds of drinks for... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Croatian Times

37399

Sweden

Swedish Cop in Trouble After Letting Friend Fire Gun Despite Ban

30 April 2013

Local (Sweden)

A Swedish police officer risks disciplinary action after letting a soon-to-be groom fire 30 shots with his service weapon at a bachelor party held at the indoor shooting range of a police station in western Sweden. Wishing to give his friend a memorable send-off before he entered into married life, the officer invited the groom-to-be and ten other friends to celebrate at the shooting range of the Halmstad police station in June of last year. During the festivities,... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Local (Sweden)

37392

Sweden

One Shooting a Week in Swedish Town, Gangs Blamed for Half Shootings

29 April 2013

Local (Sweden)

After a man was shot dead through his kitchen window in Gothenburg this weekend, local police said easier access to weapons has lead to one shooting a week in the western Sweden city. "It's been really easy for criminals to get their hands on weapons and they don't hesitate to use them," Erik Nord of the Västra Götaland police told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper (DN). DN reported that for the past two years, Sweden's second largest city has seen on average one... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Local (Sweden)

37404

Yemen,Argentina,Costa Rica,Libya,Germany,United States,Brazil,Paraguay,Austria

Most Brazilian Guns Exported to US

29 April 2013

Folha de Sao Paulo

BRASILIA - The U.S., currently discussing restrictions on the sale of firearms, purchased 7.9 million guns from Brazil in the past 40 years, and 59% of those were exported during the Lula administration (2003-2010). That is the result of a new study by the Army Command to which Folha had access through the Access to Information Act, with a detailed record of the sellers and buyers of 9.9 million revolvers, pistols, rifles and shotguns, among other weapons, exported... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Folha de Sao Paulo

37390

Italy

Gunshots Fired As Italian Government Sworn In, Three Injured

28 April 2013

al Jazeera

Two Italian paramilitary police officers have been shot and wounded outside the Rome office of new premier Enrico Letta as he was being sworn in nearby presidential palace. The gunman and a female passerby were also injured in Sunday's incident outside Palazzo Chigi, the building the hosts the premier's office, Italy's ANSA news agency said. A police official said that one of the wounded police officers had been shot in the neck and was in a serious condition after... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: al Jazeera

37384

Russia

Russian Police Detain Several People Over Celebratory Shootings

28 April 2013

RIA Novosti (Russia)

MOSCOW – Police have detained at least nine people traveling in a wedding caravan of five cars for allegedly firing celebratory shots in southern Moscow on Sunday, a police spokesman has said. "A wedding cortege of Azerbaijan's nationals has been detained at the entrance to the Tsaritsyno park," the spokesman said adding that the passengers and the drivers have been taken to a police department to "give explanations over the shooting." Police have halted a caravan... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

37383