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Crime Gun Intelligence Center opening in Cleveland

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Crime Gun Intelligence Center opening in Cleveland


CLEVELAND — The Surgeon General has now declared gun violence a public health crisis in America. 


What You Need To Know

  • The United States Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a Crime Gun Intelligence Center opening in Northeast Ohio
  • CGICs are centralized law enforcement hubs with the goal of investigating and preventing gun violence 
  • There are already CGICs in Columbus and Cincinnati 

He is calling for preventive measures similar to past campaigns against smoking and traffic safety. 

The question now is how to fight this crisis, and Cleveland is hoping a new Crime Gun Intelligence Center, modeled after one in Cincinnati, will help. 

United States Attorney General Merrick Garland was in Cleveland on Tuesday to announce a new crime gun intelligence center, also known as a CGIC. Garland said CGICs are centralized law enforcement hubs that will help to investigate and prevent gun violence by bringing law enforcement officers and prosecutors together at every level, providing access to firearms tracing technology.

“Through enhanced collaboration and advanced technology, CGIC’s help investigators generate leads to get shooters off the streets and dismantle the trafficking networks that supply violent criminals with their guns,” Garland said.

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Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Cleveland native, Stephen Dettelbach, said the CGICs have the ability to take a particular piece of evidence to help solve gun violence crimes.

“… a shell casing, a fingerprint, a LPR reading, a traffic light camera, a ring camera, and to take that piece of evidence and turn it to actionable intelligence in realtime,” Dettelbach said.

Garland said the CGIC’s across the country are already supporting law enforcement investigations, like the one in Columbus, that helped locate a shell casing from a crime scene in only 2 days, compared to taking 40-60 days before the center.  

“No one in this country should have to live in fear of gun violence, no family and community should have to grieve the loss of their loved ones to senseless violence, that is why we are here today. The Northeast Ohio Crime Gun Intelligence Center will help us leverage our partnerships and technological innovation to solve gun crimes and save lives,” Garland said.

But Garland also pointed to obstacles like a new proposal to cut the justice department’s budget by almost $1 billion. 

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“This effort to defund the justice department and its essential law enforcement functions will make our fight against violent crime all the more difficult. It is unacceptable,” Garland said.

Garland said he thinks the decision by the Surgeon General to declare gun violence as a public health crisis will help draw public attention to the matter. 

“This CGIC does not represent the culmination of the justice department’s efforts to stop gun violence in this region, it marks a new chapter,” Garland said.



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Cleveland, OH

Gas prices surge, impacting Northeast Ohio delivery drivers and small businesses

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Gas prices surge, impacting Northeast Ohio delivery drivers and small businesses


CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Gas prices continue to soar, hitting drivers’ wallets hard. Delivery drivers who rely on their cars for work face added expenses.

Kevin Tran hops on his bike every day to make money through DoorDash. He empathizes with his fellow food delivery workers who are paying surging gas prices.

“It’s a strain not only on their cars and mileage but just their everyday expenses,” Tran said. “They won’t get paid until they use up their own money to spend for gas.”

He has not owned a car in close to a decade because of how expensive it can be.

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“The last time I remember paying for gas it was probably the better part of $2 and even then for myself that seemed like an expense that I wasn’t willing to pay for,” Tran said.

According to AAA, Monday’s national average for a gallon of gas was $3.95. That is 24 cents higher than last week and $1.02 higher than last month.

A 19 News crew found a gallon was $3.99 at a gas station in Cleveland off West 150th Street.

“You see it’s $60, so it is what it is and at this point I guess you have to do what you got to do,” one driver said.

For small businesses like A Slice Above in Strongsville, they rely on their delivery drivers to help serve customers.

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Higher prices at the pump can potentially impact the bottom line.

“Delivering for the drivers that’s some thing I’ll probably have to add a little bit later but also my vendors who deliver to me will start charging me more for deliveries,” Don Bersacola, the shop’s owner, said. “That happened 10, 15 years ago. They added a delivery fee to my produce, my meats so when they deliver they’re going to start charging me more so then I have to eventually but I don’t like to do that because consumers are hurting right now so you can’t just pass everything on to them.”

Despite the rising costs for fuel, he plans to keep his prices steady.

“I’ve been here 33 years so I’ve been through a lot so I can hold on for quite some time, I think,” Bersacola said. “Some of the smaller, newer ones maybe not so but I’m pretty confident.”

For drivers, there is no end in sight for when gas prices might drop back down.

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Cleveland, OH

ICE agents support Cleveland Hopkins International Airport TSA operations

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ICE agents support Cleveland Hopkins International Airport TSA operations


CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – The Cleveland Hopkins International Airport confirmed there are “federal partners on-site” on Monday.

“These personnel are supporting TSA operations in a non-screening role, including assisting with passenger flow and divesting,” Cleveland Hopkins stated. “They are not conducting identification checks or screening passengers.”

Airport operations and passenger travel are not impacted by the federal agents’ presence at this time, Cleveland Hopkins said.

Cleveland Hopkins encourage travels to “proceed as usual and arrive as recommended for their flights.”

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Leaders from both sides of the aisle have weighed in.

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Cleveland, OH

Vehicle collides with plane at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, no injuries

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Vehicle collides with plane at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, no injuries


CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – An unoccupied vehicle tug collided with an unoccupied parked plane at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport just before 1 a.m. Monday.

Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers said the plane was a Frontier Airlines Airbus A321.

According to troopers, the vehicle tug had not been placed in a locked position, causing it to roll and collide with the aircraft.

Troopers added there were no injuries and the incident remains under investigation.

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This happened the same day an Air Canada regional jet struck a fire truck on a runway while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

Pilot and copilot killed in collision between jet and fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport

The pilot and co-pilot were killed and many others injured.



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