Nouvelles sur les armes à feu
Man Charged with Smuggling Hundreds of Guns to Puerto Rico from US
8 September 2011
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
Investigators have charged a New Jersey man with trafficking hundreds of .40-caliber Glock pistols from Central Florida to Puerto Rico though underground channels, a federal affidavit states.
Luis Velazquez-Pinero was indicted on Aug. 31 on charges that he illegally shipped firearms in interstate and foreign commerce, travelled from New Jersey to illegally acquire firearms and lied to investigators.
Records show agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and... (GunPolicy.org)
Libye,États-Unis,Puerto Rico,Macédoine
How Dangerous is Celebratory Gunfire? Many Innocents Are Struck, Killed
24 August 2011
Guardian (UK)
Without doubt, war correspondents are wise to wear helmets and flak jackets while sending dispatches from shell-pounded streets crackling with gunfire.
But when Sky News reporter Alex Crawford rode into Tripoli this week on a rebel pickup truck, she was more worried about celebratory gunfire – because of the danger posed by bullets landing on her head.
While some early studies conjectured that bullets shot upwards simply vanished into space, the threat from falling... (GunPolicy.org)
Multiple Shootings Increased US Police Fatalities by 37 per cent in 2010
28 December 2010
Associated Press
ATLANTA - Two officers in a remote Alaska town were ambushed as they chatted on a street. A California officer and deputy were killed by an arson suspect with a high-powered rifle as they tried to serve a warrant. Two other officers doing anti-drug work were gunned down by men along a busy Arkansas highway.
These so-called cluster killings of more than one officer helped make 2010 a particularly deadly year for law enforcement. Deaths in the line of duty jumped 37... (GunPolicy.org)
Mother Drops Her Police Gun in Car, 4yr-old Kills Himself in Puerto Rico
9 October 2008
Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A 4-year-old boy accidentally killed himself with his police-officer mother's gun as she dropped her children off at school, police said Thursday. The gun apparently fell between the two front seats of the car as the mother leaned over to comb her daughter's hair.
The 35-year-old mother is a sergeant with the San Juan police department and her statement will be taken in more detail when she is ready, Commissioner Hilton Cordero said.
Her... (GunPolicy.org)
Florida Gun Dealers, Gun Shows, Smugglers Fuel Puerto Rico's Drug Wars
19 March 2008
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
More than 200 guns bought illegally from Central Florida shops went to Puerto Rico drug gangs responsible for scores of murders in recent years, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Investigators predicted "Operation Tropical Firepower," as the investigation is known, will expand and link up to 800 weapons to more than a dozen suspects arrested this week and others still at large. Already, it is the region's largest gun-trafficking case in... (GunPolicy.org)
Five US States, Puerto Rico Petition Supreme Court to Uphold Gun Controls
14 January 2008
New York Sun
In arguing that the Second Amendment case now before the Supreme Court shouldn't have any bearing on state gun control laws, Attorney General Cuomo is finding himself largely alone among state attorneys general.
Mr. Cuomo filed a brief, signed onto by only four other states and Puerto Rico, to the federal high court last week in District of Columbia v. Heller, which will be heard in March. In the case, the Supreme Court will review whether Washington, D.C., residents... (GunPolicy.org)
Florida Airline Worker Gets 15yrs for Gun Running from US to Puerto Rico
19 October 2007
Associated Press
ORLANDO, Florida — The leader of a drug-and-gun smuggling ring was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to sneaking contraband aboard commercial flights out of a Florida airport where he worked.
Zabdiel Santiago-Balaguer, 23, a former customs agent for Delta's subsidiary Comair at Orlando International Airport, was sentenced Thursday.
Authorities said he used his airport-issued identification card to access restricted areas and evade security... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Shop Burglaries Fuelled Florida-Puerto Rico Gun Smuggling Ring
20 May 2007
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
The ringleader of a gun- and drug-smuggling operation out of Orlando International Airport bought some of his weapons from a ragtag group of burglars who had been breaking into gun shops across Central Florida.
The connection between the smuggling operation and burglary ring is outlined in law-enforcement documents obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. It was only after the burglars' arrests in January that authorities learned they were selling stolen guns to airport... (GunPolicy.org)
Airport Workers' Florida-Puerto Rico Gun Running Ring: 5 Men Charged
29 March 2007
Associated Press
ORLANDO, Florida — Federal grand juries in Florida and Puerto Rico have indicted five men in a scheme in which baggage handlers smuggled drugs and guns aboard commercial flights, authorities said Thursday.
The men were part of a ring that authorities began to unravel this month when agents found Thomas Anthony Munoz, 22, carrying guns and drugs off a flight from Orlando to Puerto Rico, federal officials said.
Jeffrey Lorenzano Cruz, 27; his cousin Joel Matos Cruz;... (GunPolicy.org)
Lax Gun Laws, US Airline Rules Fuel Record Murder Rates in Puerto Rico
18 March 2007
Orlando Sentinel (Florida), Series
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — To travel with a dog to Puerto Rico, an airline passenger must show proof of the pet's updated rabies vaccination, a health certificate signed by a veterinarian and shell out about $100 to cover the airline fee.
To travel with five Glock handguns, three AK-47 assault rifles and 11 pounds of ammunition, an American Airlines passenger simply needs to inform an employee and make sure the weapons are packed securely and safely before they're... (GunPolicy.org)
Secrecy, Neglect, Gun Lobby Cripple US Feds' Battle Against Gun Runners
18 March 2007
Orlando Sentinel (Florida), Series
Catching gunrunners who shop in Central Florida to arm Puerto Rico's drug gangs is just one responsibility of a tiny, understaffed squad of federal agents.
The local office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has eight agents — the same number it had in 1979.
In those 28 years, the region's population more than doubled beyond 2.6 million residents — and the Orlando-to-San Juan gun trade took off when an unending tsunami of drugs and violent... (GunPolicy.org)
Florida's Slack Firearm Laws Help Feed Puerto Rico's Illegal Gun Market
18 March 2007
CBS-4 TV News (Florida) / AP
ORLANDO — Lenient rules on the purchase and transportation of guns in Florida are subverting stricter gun laws in Puerto Rico.
According to the U.S.Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fireams and Explosives about 60 percent of the guns seized in Puerto Rico in the last decade came from Florida. Police in Puerto Rico say these illegal guns can be linked to more than 7 thousand murders in the last 10 years.
A key concern for law enforcement officials are airline regulations... (GunPolicy.org)
Dozen Smuggled Guns on US/Puerto Rico Passenger Flight 'Little Danger'
8 March 2007
Associated Press
ORLANDO, Florida — Passengers on a commercial flight from Florida to Puerto Rico were in little danger despite more than a dozen guns being on board, because at least two federal air marshals were also on the plane, a Transportation Security Administration spokesman said Thursday.
TSA spokesman Christopher White declined to address the security breach or whether the marshals knew that guns were there.
"I cannot comment on the operational details of this ongoing,... (GunPolicy.org)
Florida Man Caught With 13 Pistols, Assault Rifle on Flight to Puerto Rico
7 March 2007
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
ORLANDO — An airline employee at Orlando International Airport used his security privileges Monday to sneak a duffel bag containing 13 handguns, an assault rifle and 8 pounds of marijuana aboard a Delta flight to San Juan.
Puerto Rico police arrested Thomas Anthony Munoz, 22, of Kissimmee and confiscated the weapons after he walked off Delta Air Lines Flight 933 on Monday afternoon, carrying a bagful of weapons.
It was unclear Tuesday night precisely who notified... (GunPolicy.org)
Amid Shootings, Puerto Rico Police Chief Pleads for Tougher Gun Control
6 January 2007
Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Seven people were killed in shootings across Puerto Rico on Saturday, prompting the U.S. territory's police chief to plead for tougher gun laws.
The violence included a drive-by shooting of a minivan outside a fast-food restaurant in a San Juan suburb. Two men, ages 18 and 24, were killed and two people were injured, police said. The other shootings were reported in several towns around Puerto Rico, marring the Caribbean island's Three Kings... (GunPolicy.org)
American Activists Criticise Mayor for Opposing Assault Gun Ban
27 August 2004
Associated Press
SAN JUAN — The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a U.S. group that is leading the fight to extend the federal ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons, has censured San Juan mayor Jorge Santini, for his opposition to renewing the ban.
Brian Malte, spokesman for the campaign chairman, publicly endorsed Santini's opponent in the race for the office of mayor San Juan, Eduardo Bhatia, and called Santini's opposition to the Federal Assault Weapons Ban... (GunPolicy.org)
Most Murders Committed With Smuggled or Stolen Assault Weapons
27 August 2004
Associated Press
SAN JUAN — The executive director of the Institute of Forensic Science, Pio Rechani Lopez, said the majority of murders and crimes on the island are committed with illegal and stolen weapons.
Lopez made the statements on Thursday in public hearings of the House Committee of Public Integrity, that there are very few crimes committed with legal weapons.
"There are illegal weapons arriving from other countries or the United States that enter the island as contraband... (GunPolicy.org)
Puerto Rican Activists Support Gun Ban on Assault Weapons [Es]
24 August 2004
Nuevo Dia (Puerto Rico)
SAN JUAN — El Proyecto Caribeño de Justicia y Paz pidió hoy al pueblo ser "bien crítico" en torno a la controversia sobre la legalización de la fabricación, venta y distribución de armas largas.
Wanda Colón, portavoz de la organización pacifista establecida en el 1973, dijo que la fabricación de armas largas y semiautomáticas es contraria al reclamo de control de armas que se hace en todo el mundo.
"El aumento en la cantidad de perdidas de vidas humanas... (GunPolicy.org)
Negative Stereotypes Hurting Gun Stores' Sales
18 February 2004
Caribbean Business
With news of gunfire claiming lives in Puerto Rico appearing almost on a daily basis, and legislators intent on amending the law regulating arms possession, sales at local gun shops are down. The owners and managers of these shops, however, told CARIBBEAN BUSINESS that it is ridiculous to blame them for selling guns to criminals because criminals would never be able to get a license.
Victor Gonzalez, owner of AAA Gun Shop, said CARIBBEAN BUSINESS that sales at local... (GunPolicy.org)
In Puerto Rico, Another Columbine Tragedy Waiting to Happen
21 August 2000
Yahoo News
Puerto Rico has never had a Columbine-type tragedy, but all the ingredients are present in a dangerous, combustible mixture: troubled teens and plenty of illegal guns.
Another near miss occurred just days ago when a 10th grader at a high school in Loiza, a coastal town east of San Juan, fired at an 11th grader after a confrontation about some students throwing water or pebbles or paper wads (these were among the conflicting accounts) at some other students from an... (GunPolicy.org)