‘Open your eyes to what’s happening’: Milwaukee experiencing spike in stolen guns on the streets

MILWAUKEE — Shootings are up in Milwaukee and so are the variety of automobiles being damaged into. It’s a pattern that metropolis leaders and police say is not any coincidence.

Most stolen weapons in Milwaukee are being taken from automobiles and it’s mirroring an alarming pattern nationwide.

Milwaukee Alderman Bob Bauman referenced this when addressing Friday’s mass capturing in his district downtown.

“An easy option to receive a firearm is by breaking right into a automobile the place there is a excessive likelihood that there’s a weapon saved inside,” he stated.

The Milwaukee Police Division (MPD) confirmed within the first 4 months of 2022, greater than 400 weapons have been reported stolen. That’s a median of 100 weapons per 30 days moving into the arms of the unsuitable folks.

Greater than half of these stolen weapons (266) have been taken from automobiles, in keeping with MPD. For a breakdown of the remaining, 110 have been stolen from properties, 18 from folks, 4 from garages, and two from companies. These are simply those which have been reported to police.

Wisconsin has no legislation requiring gun homeowners to report their gun misplaced or stolen. Different states have just lately handed legal guidelines, together with Illinois and Michigan.

Sean Holihan works with police and lawmakers in each state and on either side of the aisle as a part of Giffords Regulation Middle. It’s a nationwide group attempting to move bipartisan gun violence prevention insurance policies.

“Weapons are part of many individuals’s lives. They’re raised with weapons, they’re very comfy with them. It isn’t that we do not need folks to have weapons,” Holihan stated. “We simply need them to make use of them in a accountable approach.”

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson spoke about his want to work with state lawmakers, whereas asserting a weekend curfew after Friday evening’s violence.

“We do not management gun legislation on the native degree. I want that we did, however we do not. That is one thing for Madison to work out and I implore my companions in Madison that I intend to work with to open your eyes to what’s taking place in Milwaukee,” Johnson stated.

State Senator LaTonya Johnson says she’s pushing for the state legislature to present Milwaukee the power to impose a few of its personal gun restrictions.

The problem isn’t distinctive to Milwaukee. From 2019 to 2020, no less than 180 U.S. cities noticed an increase in gun thefts from veyhicles, which now make up the most important supply of stolen weapons, in keeping with non-profit Everytown For Gun Security.

In Racine this week, the police chief made a plea to oldsters — if you recognize your teenager by some means has an unlawful gun, name police and they’ll come decide it up.

In case you legally personal a gun, Angel Quinoz, the proprietor of AQ Firearms in Greendale recommends:

• Lockable safes you’ll be able to hook up a wire to, wrap across the base of your seat.
• Don’t preserve it in your glove compartment even when it has a lock, these might be extra simply damaged.
• Be aware of the serial numbers and have that info saved in a protected place.

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