City Officials Plan to Toughen Up on Gun Trafficking

By D.C. Witness Staff - July 26, 2019
Daily Stories | Homicides |

During a press conference July 25, city officials made a promise to fully prosecute those who are caught with illegally obtained firearms after the death of an 11-year-old boy.

ATF Washington Field Division Special Agent Ashan Benedict was joined by Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Police Peter Newsham, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie Liu, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Zachary Terwilliger and District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser for a press conference to announce their partnership to remove illegal guns from Washington, DC.

Chief Newsham said that more than 1,000 guns had been recovered in 2019. However, that does not dispute the fact that, of the 98 homicides in D.C. in 2019, a gun was the murder weapon in 77 of those cases, according to D.C. Witness data.

Terwilliger said the plan would be to trace where every gun comes from.

However, Virginia law does not require firearms dealers to obtain a state license and also does not require a background check on the purchaser of a firearm when the seller is not licensed, according to Giffords Law Center, a policy organization dedicated to researching, writing, enacting, and defending proven laws and program.

Terwilliger said homicides in the Eastern District of Virginia decreased by 14 percent this year. But, according to Mayor Bowser’s administration, 35 percent of illegal guns in D.C. are coming from Virginia.

According to the Virginia State Police, firearms registration is not required for the purchase of guns.

City officials are now asking for help from civilians to get more guns off the street.

“I have to believe there are family members, there are friends, there are employers that know people are making runs over to Virginia to try to get guns,” said Attorney Terwilliger “Please speak up, please speak up…we do need your help.”

MPD is offering up to a $2500 reward for a tip leading to an arrest and seizure of an illegal gun.