JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Hundreds of guns were reported stolen in Jacksonville last year — a trend continuing from the year prior.
According to the data from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office there were 660 guns reported stolen in the city during 2021. It’s 64 fewer than the number reported stolen in 2020 — 724.
Recommended Videos
It’s not uncommon for crime scenes in Jacksonville to involve guns that were reported stolen. And, according to Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Kamentz, with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, not every gun reported stolen was taken from an unlocked car or during a home burglary.
RELATED: Hundreds of guns stolen from local cars in the last 2 years
“We frequently get notified in regards to firearms that are stolen from licensed gun dealers,” Kamentz said.
Agent Kaments says it doesn’t matter if it’s one weapon or more than one stolen from a gun store; ATF is required to launch a full-scale investigation into how the guns were stolen and who might have taken them.
It’s also required to make sure all the information about a weapon stolen from a store is uploaded to a database in the event the gun is recovered following a violent crime. The ATF also says stolen guns generate a lot of money.
“Guns that are stolen are not typically stolen for a personal collection,” Kamentz said. “They will enter into the illegal firearms trade, and the thing we know through trace records is Florida is a source state.”
That means guns stolen from homes, cars and stores in Florida have a pretty good chance of being sold in other areas of the country. The ATF says when firearms are stolen and then sold on the black market, the chances of those weapons being used to commit violent crimes skyrocket.
The ATF says gun stores will often be targeted by thieves following a disaster such as a hurricane when electricity may be out or the building may be damaged enough to sneak in.