Rising Trend of Stolen Guns from Cars Puts Public Safety at Risk

According to a report by the gun safety group Everytown, the number of guns stolen from cars in the US has surged threefold over the past decade, making vehicles the primary source of stolen firearms in the country. This upward trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, coinciding with a significant increase in weapon purchases in the US. Nearly 122,000 guns were stolen in 2022, with over half of them being taken from cars, mainly parked in driveways or outside people’s homes. This figure represents a sharp rise compared to 2013 when home robberies accounted for a quarter of all firearm thefts. These statistics indicate a pressing need for people to store their firearms safely, preventing them from falling into the wrong hands. Stolen weapons have been linked to violence, such as the murder of a 27-year-old Coast Guard member in Florida in 2021, whose car gun was used against her during a car break-in attempt. Moreover, a study by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) revealed that stolen guns are frequently utilized in criminal activities, with over one million weapons reported missing between 2017 and 2021. The majority of these incidents occur privately, suggesting that personal security measures should be prioritized to minimize the prevalence of stolen firearms. The ATF has discovered that roughly 90% of gun thefts originate from private parties. As a result, law enforcement agencies cannot disclose specific information regarding the whereabouts of stolen weapons, but it may be shared with authorities investigating criminal incidents. In response to this trend, the city council of Savannah, Georgia, recently authorized an ordinance necessitating people to secure their firearms inside automobiles following a spike in gun thefts from unlocked cars within the previous year, although the move has drawn criticism from the state’s Attorney General.