#How To Recover A Firearms Serial Number

[forensicfield]

How To Recover a Firearm's Serial Number?

Firearms examiners are frequently presented with firearms that have illegible serial numbers. Criminals delete serial numbers in order to be "untraceable." Many culprits are unaware that even if they erase a serial unique code number, the unique code ....

Continue reading How To Recover a Firearm’s Serial Number?

[fawnsuga]

Firearms Utilized During the Columbine Massacre 

Firearms Carried by Eric Harris

12 Gauge Pump Action

JCSO Item: #20

CBI Item: #900

Model: Savage-Springfield 67H

Serial Number: #A232432

Chamber: 3"

Barrel Length: 14"

Total Length: 25"

Purchase Location: Tanner Gun Show

Condition Upon Recovery: Recovered with a spent shell in the chamber and X live rounds in the magazine.

Hi-Point 995 Carbine Rifle

JCSO Item: #21

CBI Item: #901

Model: Hi-Point

Serial Number: #A59610

Purchase Location: Tanner Gun Show

Condition Upon Recovery: Recovered with an empty chamber and no magazine.

Firearms Carried by Dylan Klebold

12 Gauge Double Barrel Shotgun

JCSO Item: #22

CBI Item: #902

Model: Savage-Stevens 311D

Serial Number: #A077513

Chamber: 2 3/4"

Barrel Length: 12 15/16"

Total Length: 21 3/16"

Purchase Location: Tanner Gun Show

Condition Upon Recovery: Recovered with a fired federal 12 GA shell in each chamber.

Intratec DC9M 9 mm Pistol

JCSO Item: #23

CBI Item: #903

Model: Intratec DC9 Mini

Serial Number: #D076305

Barrel Length: 3"

Total Length: 10.5"

Purchase Details: Acquired from Mark Manes on January 23, 1999, for $500.

Condition Upon Recovery: Recovered with one live round in the chamber and a loaded magazine containing live rounds.

Additional Information Regarding the TEC-DC9M

There has been some inquiry into how we can confirm that Dylan's pistol was the DC Mini model. Below is additional information pertaining to this firearm. The TEC-9 series includes several models and variants:

TEC-DC9

TEC-DC9S (stainless steel)

TEC-DC9K (stainless steel Kote finish)

TEC-DC9M (mini)

TEC-DC9MS (mini stainless steel)

TEC-DC9MK (mini stainless steel Kote finish)

Identification of Dylan's TEC-DC9M Model

It is essential to differentiate between the TEC-9, the TEC-DC9, and the TEC-DC9M. The TEC-9 and TEC-DC9 are distinct models, with the TEC-DC9M (mini) being a smaller variant of the TEC-DC9. The manufacturer of the TEC-9 pistols, Interdynamic USA/Intratec, was founded by George Kellgren and Carlos Garcia, but it is no longer in operation. The TEC-9 was originally the KG-99, which was rebranded in 1984 when Kellgren sold his stake in the company to Garcia.

Clarification on TEC-9 vs. TEC-DC9

The TEC-9 is the original model. Following the Cleveland Elementary School shooting in 1989, California enacted the Roberti-Roos assault weapons ban, explicitly naming the TEC-9. To comply with this legislation, Intratec rebranded the TEC-9 to the TEC-DC9 in 1990, modifying certain features to ensure legality in California. The “DC” denotes “Designed/Designated for California.” We can confirm that Dylan’s firearm was manufactured after the 1989 ban due to two post-ban features:

Single-Mount Sling Point: The TEC-DC9 features a single-mount sling point at the rear, as opposed to the original TEC-9's two sling points. Dylan's firearm exhibits this single-mount sling point, confirming it as a “DC” model.

Stamped Sights: The original TEC-9 utilized a high-quality button sight, while stamped sights (spot welded) were introduced around 1987. A firearm with both a stamped front sight and a single-mount sling point is definitively a post-ban TEC and therefore a “DC” model.

Confirmation of the Mini Model (DC-9M)

The distinction between the TEC-DC9 and TEC-DC9M models is significant, as the “M” indicates “mini.” Similar to the KG-99 being rebranded as the TEC-9, the KG-99 Mini was rebranded as the “TEC-9 Mini.” We can confirm that Dylan’s firearm was the mini model based on the following criteria:

Barrel Length: All mini DC9M models feature a 3” barrel, in contrast to the 5” barrel of the standard DC9 model. Dylan’s firearm has a 3” barrel, easily identifiable when compared to a TEC-9.

Overall Length: According to the manufacturer's specifications, the TEC-DC9M measures 10.5” in length, which corresponds exactly to the dimensions of Dylan's pistol.

[defensive-tactics]

Gun Buybacks Exposed

Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners (MCRGO) Article

Self-defense organizations like MCRGO have historically been critical of gun buybacks. There's little evidence to support gun buybacks have any measurable effect on homicides, suicides, or nonfatal shootings and assaults in either the short-term or the long-term. Gun buybacks usually only collect a few hundred guns at a time. These firearms are often of low quality, poorly maintained, or even inoperable. Sellers are typically older individuals, often widows, who frequently live outside the community holding the buyback. In short, these aren't the firearms used in criminal activity.

However, gun buybacks are popular with gun control-friendly politicians. Gun buybacks are fast and easy to implement. Photos of firearms purchased at buybacks generate news stories that make it appear local officials are doing something to combat crime. Gun buybacks can serve as justification for state and federal grants to municipalities. They are used as a political organizing tool. Proponents argue that gun buybacks take guns off the street, recover illegally possessed firearms, and reduce the overall number of guns in circulation. But do they?

An exposé by the New York Times published on Sunday, December 10, 2023 shows that gun buybacks are "fueling a secondary arms market." Flint, Michigan is used as an example in the article with Mayor Sheldon Neely stating, “Gun violence continues to cause enormous grief and trauma,” Neeley adds, “I will not allow our city government to profit from our community’s pain by reselling weapons that can be turned against Flint residents.”

But the article goes on to point out that, "Flint’s guns were not going to be melted down. Instead, they made their way to a private company that has collected millions of dollars taking firearms from police agencies, destroying a single piece of each weapon stamped with the serial number and selling the rest as nearly complete gun kits. Buyers online can easily replace what’s missing and reconstitute the weapon."

Throughout the article, officials and gun safety advocates express shock and surprise at what the New York Times uncovered. The Rev. Chris Yaw, whose Episcopal church outside Detroit has sponsored buybacks with local officials, said in an interview that he was “aghast and appalled” when told by a reporter how the process works. Gun control groups, Everytown for Gun Safety and the Giffords Law Center, claim they had not realized that “destroyed” firearms were being sold in this way. In the article, Flint states, “The city was unaware that weapons were not being incinerated.”

However, a follow-up article fact-checking the New York Times piece, interviewed GunBusters, one of the companies involved in recycling guns purchased at buybacks. GunBusters president Scott Reed says, "We disagree with a number of points in the [New York Times] story, with our main disagreement being that law enforcement agencies are unaware of what is happening with the firearms. The implication that agencies are being deceived about how the firearms are destroyed and how GunBusters is funded is patently false.”

The statement from Reed went on to say that when the company has an initial meeting with police departments, the police are offered a choice for any guns turned over to be completely pulverized, for a fee, or for only the frames to be destroyed, for free, with the remainder of the weapon “salvaged.” Not surprisingly, many police departments choose the free option knowing full well firearms components are resold.

Gun buybacks are a failed public policy tool. They take attention and resources away from other measures, such as increased community policing and community mental health, which are more effective at reducing suicides and violent crime. But unlike gun buybacks, those measures are administratively and politically more difficult to implement, especially in cities like Flint, Detroit, and Grand Rapids dominated by elected officials sympathetic to calls to "defund the police."

[beardedmrbean]

TURNER, Maine — A Turner woman is accused of buying dozens of guns over several months in 2022 on behalf of a California crime gang.

Jennifer Scruggs, 35 was arrested Monday on 10 charges of making false written statements to three different licensed firearms dealers. Federal prosecutors filed one charge per purchase made between March 20 and June 17, 2022.

Scruggs allegedly bought 55 firearms over those 10 transactions at gun shops in Turner, Auburn and Whitefield.

According to the federal criminal complaint, two of the weapons were recovered by Los Angeles police in August 2022 and February 2023. Serial numbers for each weapon confirmed that the guns were bought by Scruggs in Maine.

Court documents describe a conversation between Scruggs and investigators with Lewiston police and a local ATF officer in mid-August 2022. Scruggs justified the number of guns by saying she did not trust banks and felt that buying firearms was a better long-term value than keeping cash in a bank.

She also cited medical concerns, including cancer, which prompted her to buy the firearms to leave to her son, should she die.

She told the investigators that while two of the guns were stolen by people staying with her, the other 53 were stored at her brother's home.

Her brother, however, reportedly told the investigators that not only had he never been asked to store weapons, but that he and Scruggs did not have a good relationship, due in part to her alleged history of drug use.

In another conversation with the officers in October, Scruggs admitted she had bought the weapons for two other people, who had said they were outfitting a gang in California.

Buying guns for other people, also known as a straw purchase, is illegal. Gun buyers must declare that they are obtaining the weapons for their own use.

After getting a warrant to access Scruggs' Facebook Messenger account, investigators found conversations with several unidentified people, one of which included photos taken by Scruggs at one of the Maine gun shops, with the person then telling her which ones to buy.

A photo sent on June 14 showed cash on the sales counter inside G3 Firearms in Auburn.

A message Scruggs sent later that same day read, "they're all yours after this lol," and explaining she had to get a hunting and fishing license in order to provide the firearms dealer a government-printed document with her current address.

The criminal complaint also details multiple conversations in which Scruggs described driving to California and how she met a gang boss and its alleged "cartel" contact.

Investigators used License Plate Reader machines to track a car rented in June from Portland to Los Angeles. The person who rented the car was the same person who Scruggs was messaging about the gun purchases on Facebook Messenger.

A Browning pistol Scruggs bought in May 2022 in Auburn was recovered by Los Angeles police on Aug. 30, while they investigated a suspect who reportedly fired into the air multiple times while yelling the name of a local gang.

On Feb. 18, 2023, Los Angeles police also seized a Glock purchased by Scruggs on June 2022 in Turner.

If convicted on the ten counts of making a false statement during the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer, Scruggs faces up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

She is now being held without bail until a hearing can be held to determine if she would qualify for release. The U.S. Attorney's Office has requested that she remain in custody during her trial.

[coochiequeens]

A girl is dead because of her dumb ass brother. Ladies if you have kids do your daughters a favor and don’t have sons.

(CNN)A 13-year-old boy who was manufacturing and selling so-called "ghost guns" has been arrested after he allegedly shot and killed his 14-year-old sister with one of his own homemade firearms, according to the Douglas County, Georgia, Sheriff's Office.

Two people had come to the family's home in Douglasville, about 20 miles west of Atlanta, on November 27 to purchase a gun that the 13-year-old made, Douglas County Sheriff Tim Pounds said in a news conference livestreamed by CNN affiliate WGCL Wednesday.

But instead of buying the firearm, the pair stole the gun from the 13-year-old and fled the scene, the sheriff told reporters. The boy then shot at them as they were leaving, Pounds said, but instead struck his 14-year-old sister, who was identified by the sheriff's office as Kyra Scott. Investigators believe the weapon he used was one that he had made.

Authorities have arrested Kyra's 13-year-old brother and 19-year-old Yusef Jabryil McArthur El -- one of the two people who had come to buy the homemade gun -- the sheriff's office said in a news release. The 13-year-old has admitted to the shooting, Pounds said.

The 13-year-old has been charged with felony murder, the sheriff's office said in a statement, and McArthur El has been charged with robbery and felony murder.

The Douglas County District Attorney's Office is waiting for the investigation to be turned over to prosecutors before making a decision on final charges, District Attorney Dalia Racine said Wednesday.

CNN is trying to determine if the defendants have legal representation who would comment on their behalf.

According to the news release from the sheriff's office, people at the home tried to transport Kyra to the hospital but stopped at a gas station, where they were met by EMTs and sheriff's deputies. Kyra was taken to a hospital where she was confirmed dead of her injuries.

"It's so sad ... because the mother's losing two kids at one time," Pounds said, telling reporters the boy had been making weapons from "start to finish."

"He's selling those weapons on the streets of Douglas County, Carroll County, Atlanta -- everywhere," the sheriff said.

Investigators are still searching for the third person involved, Pounds said, and the shooting remains under investigation.

Authorities did not detail exactly how Kyra Scott's brother was making homemade firearms or how long he'd been selling them. Investigators were looking at potential weapons charges for the 13-year-old, Lt. Jon Mauney of the sheriff's office said, but he declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.

Ghost guns

The use of ghost guns -- self-assembled firearms that are often made with parts sold online and do not have serial numbers -- has been on the rise in some major cities.

According to a Justice Department news release in May, between 2016 and 2020, more than 23,000 un-serialized firearms were reported to have been recovered by law enforcement from potential crime scenes.

Pounds called the issue of ghost guns a "super big deal," adding, "there's no serial number, you can't trace that gun."

"It's real critical, and it's a bad thing for law enforcement all over the world," he said. "You can order everything you need to make that gun off of the internet and make it -- and it will fire."

A GoFundMe set up by Kyra's sibling to raise money for her funeral service describes her as "the kindest little girl you would've ever met."

"She had the biggest heart and always wanted to be around her family," it says.

[chibivesicle]

Golden Kamuy chapter 243: OgataOgataOgataOgataOgataOgataOgataOgataOgataOgata

Oh yes, finally some much awaited Ogata backstory!  Ah, I feel alive again - well that and I can finally work half days which is a vast improvement from working from home in a make-shift office in a spare room which includes my cat’s litter box.   This is a dense chapter, so I’m going to analyze it alone and also - Ogata.

Chatper 243 is titled “Superior Privates” and it clearly is setting up conflict between Usami and Ogata.  We have Usami’s face framed by Tsurumi and Ogata as the men tattooed on his face running but never able to meet.

I have to admit it took me a bit of staring at it to get the joke.  I also think there is a Captain Tsubasa reference in here as it looks like they are playing soccer, but that is a series that I know little about.

The title page also has a rifle and a hammer and a horse in the background implying the vastly different ways that Ogata and Usami have for killing other people or living things.

The chapter starts out with Usami using his *ahem* rather intimate method for trying to find the serial killer while Kikuta tries to make small talk with him.  He remarks on how Usami’s methods are odd and it leads him into mentioning Ogata.  He states how he thought that there was something wrong with the superior privates.  Kikuta says this calmly and his eyes are shaded a bit and his eyes are narrow.  I think Kikuta is trying to get a rise out of Usami or see how he really feels about Ogata.  Usami is not happy that Kikuta has put him in the same category of weird with Ogata, he doesn’t want to be lumped in the same category as Ogata.  Now keep in mind that we are reading an English translation so that is what I have to work with but Usami both refers to him as a bastard and I get the feeling that it is both a literal and a descriptive way that Usami feels about Ogata.  He even uses very interesting language of ‘snot-nosed spoiled little punk’ which in English implies that Ogata has much more in common with Koito as it reads to me that Usami sees him as a spoiled rich kid (something that we know Ogata certainly was not).

Kikuta seems to partially ignore Usami’s statement and continues to state that he was the best marksmen in the 27th and that Tsurumi gave him ‘special attention’.  Again, this statement seems to be baiting Usami and he quickly and angrily responds yelling that Ogata was just a glorified walking firearm, and he’s Tsurumi’s number one. 

This leads Usami to give Kikuta information to prove that he’s better than Ogata and that Ogata is not important.  I read this exchange to be an expression of Usami’s jealousy of Ogata and he is here to set the ‘record’ straight.  This is interesting as we know that Kikuta was working with Ogata for some time as they were the ‘Russian’ kidnappers of Koito in 1902 in Hakodate.  Usami must know that Kikuta and Ogata worked together, but we still don’t have a time when either of them joined the 27th.

Anyways, Usami brings up 2nd lt. Yuusaku Hanazawa and he reminds Kikuta that he died during the battle of the 203 Hill.  Which he then transitions to when Ogata was recovering in Otaru from being beaten up by Sugimoto and dumped into the river.  Ogata is in bed, he’s groaning and he says Yuusaku-sir which is one way to translate Yuusaku-dono.  So while in pain and potentially dreaming, Ogata has mentioned a very distant and respectful way to refer to Yuusaku.

This has such a strong callback to chapter 165 when Ogata has the fever dream and he links Yuusaku to Asirpa as being a pure idol for a cause. 

Now let’s stop and pause here - many readers of the manga have always thought that Ogata is a cold hearted bastard who feels no remorse for killing at all.  Ever since I read chapters 164 & 165, I have always felt for Ogata and I read it to be the glimpse into the fact that Ogata did have second thoughts about what he did and he had doubts and possible guilt.  I started writing meta because of how strongly I felt about Ogata and I have thought that he is a very complicated and fascinating character.   This scene here in 243, gives much more evidence to how Ogata feels about Yuusaku’s death, that he does feel guilty as he is haunted by Yuusaku and it makes chapter 164 and 165 make so much more sense.  Keep in mind when he has his melt down on the ice floe with Asirpa, he’s haunted by Yuusaku again there so more evidence of his feelings of confusion, anger, and guilt.  He wasn’t just haunted by Yuusaku in 164 and 165, he was haunted by him all the way back in the beginning of the manga’s current events timeline.

Okay, back to the flashback.  Ogata isn’t alone saying his half-brother’s name in a detached fashion, but Usami is watching over him and he mocks Ogata by repeating “Yuusaku-dono” and Ogata then stares at him, now awake.  It is a typical blank Ogata stare back at Usami.  It is clear that Usami wants to get a rise out of Ogata from the start with his aggressive body language.

Usami then drops the ‘bomb’ that Ogata said the name of his brother that he killed and he follows it up with Ogata being a weakling.  This implies that Usami sees this as an admission of guilt about Yuusaku’s death and that Usami doesn’t feel guilty about killing others.

Kikuta seems surprised that Ogata may have killed Yuusaku and Usami is certain based on the fact that Ogata is the only person who could snipe that accurately.  This implies that they actually performed an autopsy on Yuusaku which I do find curious as they were in the middle of a trench warfare situation.  But I am no expert on battlefield autopsies.  I would have thought that they didn’t pay much attention since, well they were in the middle of a battle but perhaps the fact that he was an officer they felt it was more important to at least note how he died.

This then leads to an interesting comment from Kikuta.  He makes it clear that Ogata would have no reason to kill him and he follows up with the fact that they seemed to get long well. The next panel is a flashback with Yuusaku trying to be friendly with Ogata and he’s literally trying to merge with the wall to escape his attention.  Now when I first saw the raws and read two rough translation from @goldenkamuyhunting​ and inori, I was like, seriously?  Come on Kikuta the body language is so obvious that Ogata wanted nothing to do with Yuusaku.

So I dug around to find a similar type of panel for a character’s expression in profile like Kikuta and I came back to this one here.  We have Ogata hallucinating Asirpa as Yuusaku as he looks stressed and a bit deadpan but he’s definitely surprised by what he’s seeing.

When I then look at Kikuta’s expression, I think he’s also surprised at the obvious fact that Ogata is not happy with Yuusaku.  Therefore, I think Kikuta is lying to Usami.  He knew that Ogata was uncomfortable with Yuusaku but plays it cool when talking to Usami at this moment.

There is also this helpful tweet from Sei Kobiyama:

He highlights that the fact that Ogata uses such formal language with Yuusaku also shows a clear separation of Ogata from Yuusaku. Keep in mind that in 103, it was stated that Yuusaku would refer to Ogata as “older brother” while we know 100% now that Ogata called him “Yuusaku-dono”.  This shows that both men were defining their relationship based on their own prerogative.  Ogata never saw Yuusaku as a brother, he kept the relationship professional.  Yuusaku wanted an older brother and thus he used the language towards Ogata to make their relationship familial. 

Therefore, I think that KIkuta is smart enough to read between the lines and see that the brotherly relationship was one way and unrequited.  I know you are clever man Kikuta, I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt and that you are playing Usami in this conversation.

Usami continues to explain to Kikuta why he believes that Ogata killed Yuusaku.  The flashback goes back to the battle for the 203 Hill.  This is directly after the flashback from 165 when Ogata is sniping Russians from the trenches and Tsurumi approaches him and updates him that there is a new plan.  He is to not kill Yuusaku as he is an inspiration to the men in battle as a flag bearer.  Ogata replies to Tsurumi as he uses the bolt action to eject the expired shell as he blankly replies to Tsurumi.

Chapter 243 starts off with this scene where Noda copy-pasted Ogata into the trench from 165 but added Usami in.  Usami is asking Ogata if Tsurumi told him that it is better for him to not kill Yuusaku.  This means that Usami was also aware of the original plan to kill Yuusaku along with Ogata.  What is interesting is that Usami then repeats that Tsurumi used the lines that “if Yuusaku is out of the picture Hyakunosuke’s father will show him love” and via Hanazawa’s love for Ogata, the 27th can control Hanazawa.  Usami adds in that this is a boring option; I find this hard to read as is he thinking Ogata controlling Hanazawa is boring or if this is how Usami is expressing his jealousy that Ogata is required to control Hanazawa thus giving him more Tsurumi love.

Ogata replies that Tsurumi has decided to use Yuusaku’s role as a pure idol as a way to inspire the men in battle.  Ogata looks reflective as he says this, he clearly understands the power of an idol such as Yuusaku and this is before he has his conversation with Yuusaku on the battlefield.

Usami clearly disagrees with Ogata’s read on Yuusaku, he angrily states that he’s just using his father’s position to gain respect from others and he already hopes that Tsurumi doesn’t give him more glorification that he deserves.  Keep in mind that 164 was when Ogata tried to get Yuusaku to destroy his purity by having him visit with a prostitute in a brothel but it failed.  Tsurumi read this as an indication of Yuusaku’s purity and his nobility, which Ogata clearly disagrees with.  Ogata had first hand evidence of Yuusaku’s attempt to fulfill his father’s wishes. 

What is interesting is that when Usami speaks to Ogata, his back is to him and we see Ogata’s eye from under the hood of his cloak and then we see Ogata frowning just a bit as his eyes look rounder than normal.  I really think that Ogata at least is beginning to observe that Yuusaku’s purity may be a part of his character but he’s still unsure if he’s doing it as a dutiful son or if he’s doing it for himself.

The flashback jumps to sometime later and we see Ogata having a conversation with Usami.  At this point in time, Ogata is stating a hypothesis that Yuusaku is presenting a false image of himself.  He states that if the false front is removed, Yuusaku will be shown to be the same as everyone else, and Tsurumi will change is mind about him as an idol of purity.  Ogata states that everyone is the same deep down.  He then asks Usami if he feels bad when he kills a Russian solider and Usami replies that he doesn’t.  Ogata continues with the rationalization that those who die on the battlefield die b/c of their own fault, that they are inept and therefore they die and Usami just agrees again with this statement.

The bottom right panel is more important as it shows that Ogata is setting up his ‘test’ for Yuusaku with Usami, you see Ogata to the right, Usami to the left and a third figure being dragged between them.  It looks like Noda made a goof in the final panel as Ogata’s hood is now down on his cloak but it was clearly up right before then.

Ogata continues his verbal thesis as he states that the love from one’s parents doesn’t change how you turn out.  Usami agrees.  Usami came from a 100% loving and friendly household and he’s our most twisted member of the 27th.  Ogata came from a completely broken home and he tries to rationalize that is why he can kill.   This allows Ogata to state that, he’s correct and if he and Usami are the same despite different household he’s not strange.

Some period of time passes and Ogata goes to find Yuusaku and test him with the Russian POW.  This means that we need to recall what happened in chapter 165 where Ogata brought Yuusaku to the POW here.  I always wondered who else was involved in this ‘test’ as Ogata does not look like the kind of guy who could carry a Russian POW to a random place to hide him and stage him for Yuusaku to encounter.

With his hood heavily drawn and no longer wearing his military cap, Ogata asks him if he’s killed a single person.  This leads to Ogata’s observation that Yuusaku doesn’t even use his sabre which other flag bearers will fight with in battle.  Ogata asks if he’s using his position as an excuse so that he doesn’t have to get his hands dirty by killing.

Yuusaku is clearly nervous about this accusation.  Is this actually in part the truth of Yuusaku’s own personal beliefs?  This leads to the ultimate Ogata ‘test’ he asks him to kill the POW.  Note that Yuusaku refers to Ogata as brother while we know that this entire time Ogata is using Yuusaku-dono again showing the gulf between them.  He questions if Yuusaku is trying to stay innocent by using his position and he presses him that he wants to see him kill him.

This is then repeated with Usami narration on page 7.  The text box is Usami stating that Yuusaku was truly pure and we see Yuusaku walk away from Ogata.

We have to remember between Ogata handing the bayonet to Yuusaku and then Yuusaku leaving a LOT more happened.  Yuusaku explains that he’s upholding the role that his father told him that he must play.  That he must go above and beyond the expectations of most flag bearers.  It is his job to alleviate the inevitable guilt that soldiers will feel as a result of their actions.  Ogata questions his statement about guilt and that people only act like they feel guilty.  This reply makes so much sense as we now know that right before this happens, Ogata was talking with Usami about how all people are the same deep down.  It doesn’t matter if they came from a loving family or a broken family, they are the same and that they can kill and NOT feel guilt. 

Ogata’s statement that everyone is the same as me, is with the huge caveat that Usami says he’s the same as Ogata.  This conversation ends with the incredibly awkward brotherly hug of one direction.  Yuusaku looks like he’s even crying from his left eye has he embraces Ogata, while he stands there unresponsive.  Yuusaku is certain that Ogata does have feelings and will feel guilty and he emphasizes that he’ll understand one day.

The hug scene ends with Ogata blankly staring off as Yuusaku hugs him and we can see a small foxhole in the trench that we saw before.

Going back to 243, we see Ogata address what first appears to be no one (clearly not the Russian POW) and it reveals that Usami was in the bunker/foxhole the entire time!  This means that Usami witnessed the full awkward brotherly hug and the statement from Yuusaku that people must feel guilt over killing.

Ogata then states that if he kills Yuusaku and it shows that his father loves him, it will demonstrate that Yuusaku could have become just like Ogata.   And he asks if Usami agrees with him.  Of course, Usami emerges from the bunker to state that he completely agrees with Ogata as the Russian POW still remains hog tied between them.  We get the final panel of Yuusaku collapsing on the battlefield.

The conversation returns briefly to the present as Usami tells Kikuta that Hanazawa instead became depressed over the loss of his legitimate son and never even bothered to look up Ogata.  The next statement is unclear to me, “So he was feeling all miserable and upset because Yuusaku died while he was still pure and good.”  This could be about how Hanazawa felt, but it could also refer to Ogata, and that Ogata was upset as he was never able to prove that Yuusaku wasn’t pure.  Or is this referreing to both Hanazawa and Ogata making their responses to Yuusaku’s death the same?

After this is said, Kikuta decides that he doesn’t have time for this and leaves Usami behind to lay on the ground in the afterglow.

Usami then thinks more about his conversation with Ogata in the hospital.  He tells Ogata that he knows he’s involved in the rebellion in the ranks and that he’s one of the people who has been stirring up discontent. 

Usami inquires if it has to do with Ogata’s role in the death of Hanazawa.  Usami can’t see how Tsurumi could do something that makes him unhappy.

Usami’s recollection then reveals that he was the carriage driver when Ogata met up with Tsurumi after he killed Hanazawa and staged the body.  We see Usami biting his lip seething with anger as Tsurumi dotes upon an unemotional Ogata.  This the leads to more information, at somepoint, Tsurumi gets out of the carriage and leaves Usami and Ogata alone.  Tsurumi damn well knew he was able to rile Usami up, just like what happened with Usami and Tomoharu at the dojo.

Usami then quotes Tsurumi, “You’ve been left behind Ogata, so I’m sure everyone will support you.” this leads Usami to ask Ogata if his goal is to become the leader of the 7th and if this was the reasn he agreed to be the member of the 27th to kill Hanazawa.  This implies that Usami at this point in time thinks that Ogata wanted the power and status of becoming the next Hanazawa of the 7th. 

Interestingly, Ogata stated that he accepted the job because he had to ask Hanazawa things before the end.  This implies that Tsurumi’s plan to kill Hanazawa could have gone to others in the 27th and knowing that Hanazawa was a marked man, Ogata’s opportunties were liminted to get his own personal questions answered.

What is interesting is we see here now in 103 that Ogata’s mindset about children is different than his previous conversation with Usami.  First off, Hanazawa tries to rationalize that how Ogata responded to his mother’s mental illness was the same that Hanazawa felt towards her.  We know that her mental status was already poor around the time that she gave birth to Ogata and Hanazawa never came back for her.  Ogata then highlights that children can’t choose their parents.  His theory has shifted that if love exists, he is a child who grew up lacking love and therefore he’s lacking something fundamental and it is unrelated to social status.

This is different than what he had when he spoke to Usami.  At that time Ogata felt that he and Usami were the same, they could both kill regardless of the fact that he grew up lacking the love of his parents when Usami was clearly loved.  After Yuusaku’s death, Ogata’s opinion changed, he now sees himself in a different category than Usami.  His words make it clear that he, himself is lacking something fundamental due to his upbringing.

He uses this as the transition to reveal that he shot Yuusaku on the battlefield with the intention of getting Hanazawa’s attention.  Ogata wonder if this was an event that might allow his father to love and accept his other son.

This lead to what is one of the most bittersweet panels of the entire manga where he asks if there was a ‘blessed path’ for himself as well.

Hanazawa makes it quite clear that Ogata is ‘lacking something [fundamental]’ and that he should go to hell.  Hanazawa’s dying statement is pretty clear, if he could kill his mother, his brother and now Hanazawa he was a broken individual who lacked love.

With time and perspective, this confirms for Ogata that he is lacking something fundamental.  He was able to get the words from his own father thus creating a self-fullfilling conclusion. 

What this does tell us, is that Ogata wanted answers more than anything.  He’s an intelligent man and all of these flashbacks are beginning to show how he’s trying to rationalize who he is, how he became the adult that he is.

So when we return to this part of the page, it makes so much more sense.  Ogata had to ask Hanazawa questions before Tsurumi made sure that he was dead.  Usami then immediately thinks that this is a power play on Ogata’s part to get more attention from Tsurumi.  Usami is thinking “Ogata volunteered to kill his own father - he clearly wants Tsurumi’s love!”

Ogata replies after a brief hesitation that this is not the case.  Usami just looks at Ogata with his angry rabbit face.

Usami decides to stir the pot more and he tells Ogata the true purpose of why Tsurumi wanted Hanazawa dead, the Manchurian Railway (Mantetsu).  Usami then decides to try to rile up Ogata by saying that Tsurumi didn’t want Ogata to kill him so that Ogata would be in Tsurumi’s good books but that Ogata’s father was preventing Tsurumi’s own plans in regards to the Manchurian railway.

Usami then thinks back to when he approached Ogata in the hospital as he tries to rationalize why Ogata was a part of the rebel element.  He thinks Ogata is upset that he killed his father to gain Tsurumi’s love, to show his loyalty, but instead Ogata was just a simple tool to allow Tsurumi’s plans for the Railway to proceed.

Usami tries his best to rile Ogata - he killed Yuusaku and he didn’t gain his father’s love, he killed his father but didn’t gain Tsurumi’s love.  Therefore, Ogata is bitter and angry and full of spite since no matter what Ogata has done, no one has loved him.  I think that Usami is partially correct, Ogata did these actions to see if he could gain the blessed path.  He killed Yuusaku to see if Hanazawa would approach him, but deep down, I still think Tsurumi ultimately wanted Yuusaku dead and I still think in a way, Ogata thought he was saving Yuusaku from being killed by another member of the 27th in the future.  Say Yuusaku survived the war.  It was clear as soon as he heard about Tsurumi’s plans he’d be dead.

With our new information that Ogata wanted to ask Hanazawa questions ‘before the end’ implies that again, Ogata knew that Tsurumi’s plans required Hanazawa out of the way.  Ogata needs answers to his questions about the nature of his own guilt and his need to be loved and recognized.  To me, by volunteering to be the person of the 27th to kill Hanazawa, it was the only way that he would be able to talk to his father.  His father was a dead man walking with Tsurumi’s plans and if say Tsukishima had killed him instead, he would have been left wondering if the ‘blessed path’ would open up for him as a result of his father recognizing him.  That fact that Hanazawa completely ignored Ogata’s existence after Yuusaku’s death clearly bothered Ogata and he needed to hear those answers.  It is terrible that he could only get his answers in such an extreme situation but it was Ogata’s only option and if there is something Ogata is, it is hyper-rational.

Usami tries to push Ogata further by tearing him down as he explains why Ogata became a traitor.  He states that he’s a “piece’ in Tsurumi’s game, just like Koito is a “piece”.  Thanks to inori for clarfying on discord that the translation refers to them as shogi pieces; as shogi is similar to chess, I think it is safe to make a leap that this implies that members of the 27th are pieces with different abilities and therefore, some are more useful and valuable while others are less valuable. Usami really goes for the hurt by comparing Ogata with Koito as we know that Koito and Ogata never got along even when Koito was a young officer in training.  He thinks that Ogata’s ego got the better of him and this is why he became a traitor.  He says that his ‘overwhelming’ love became ‘overwhelming’ hate and he states that Ogata knows exactly what he means and he sees Ogata for what he is.  This is interesting as we know that Ogata has changed his opinion on love and around the time that he killed Hanazawa he didn’t believe in ‘love’ as a concept.  It is clear that Usami never realized that this shift occured in Ogata’s thinking.

Ogata finally whispers something in Usami’s ear that we don’t know.  Ogata then smile as he replies to Usami’s shogi [chess] anology.  He calls Usami’s hypothesis a delusion and if they are to see members of the 27th as shogi/chess pieces, Usami is the cheapest piece on the board.  Ogata’s insult likely means that Usami is a simple pawn (or whatever the shogi equivelent of a pawn is, I should know this after watching “March comes in like a Lion” but it clearly didn’t stick in my brain).  If we are to follow a chess/shogi example, I’d say that Ogata’s interpretation hurts Usami deeply, by implying he’s a worthless pawn, he’s disposable and not important to Tsurumi.

This clearly does the trick as Usami pulls out his bayonet to stab Ogata and we see his veins on his face bulging out, a direct reference back to when he killed Tomoharu.

However, just like with the poor Russian doctor, Ogata clocks Usami in the face with a bedpan.  Ogata, using bedpans to beat people in the face since ~1907.

The next page then shows us how Ogata was so effective when he escaped the hospital in Akou.  He hit someone with a bedpan, and sprinted off barefoot in hospital clothing.  This flashback has many parallels with what happened in the hospital.  Usami refers to both Ogata and Koito as similar pieces and we learn that Usami told Ogata to investigate the Mantetsu before this happened.  On Karafuto, Ogata manages to have the Russian doctor hit Koito with the revolver and he also hits Koito with it.

Usami at somepoint wakes up and another man checks in with him.  Usami states that Mishima is following Ogata and it implies that Usami is smart enough to realize if he let Ogata go, he’ll lead them right to the other rebels.  Usami is upset that he was called a cheap piece by Ogata.  Of course I’m not surprised that Ogata knew exactly what to say to Usami to piss him off, he is always watching.  Usami is not a piece, Ogata, Koito, Tsukishima those men are pieces but Usami is special.

And yes, for good measure his is the scene after Ogata called Koito a bon-bon in Russian he told him about the South Manchuria Railway and to investigate it as it would explain that Hanazawa’s death was suspicious.

Chapter 210 has Koito’s whole, I’ve connected the dots Tsukishima and Tsurumi may have been involved in Hanazawa’s death!  This lead to Tsukishima revealing to him that Ogata was the one who killed Hanazawa.  Just like Usami, Tsukishima projects his own issues onto Ogata’s behavior as he also thinks that Ogata became upset after he killed his father even though Tsurumi gave him exactly what he [Tsukishima] wanted.

Tsukishima also re-interates his own theory that Ogata is working as a spy for Central Command which came up during his shoot out with Ogata in Yubari.

Therefore, a really major theme is that Usami and Tsukishima both think that they know what Ogata wanted from Tsurumi with their own issues projected onto Ogata’s behaviors.  It is clear from Usami’s flashback that Ogata wanted something else that we the readers know but Usami doesn’t know because he didn’t hear the conversation between Ogata and Hanazawa. 

What this also shows us is that Ogata’s motivations are not what others think that they are and he clearly has his own agenda.  We’ve known for sometime that he has his own agenda and now we can see it is partially driven by his own need to answer some pretty basic philosophical questions about the nature of love and how people are raised and if this is connected to the ability to kill and to feel guilt or not.

Back to the chapter, we have Usami now alone, abandoned by Kikuta, doing his ‘thing’ as he says that Ogata will come to Sapporo to interfere with Tsurumi’s plans and he’s clearly upset by it.

The chapter then wraps up with an update on Ogata’s marksmenship.  Ogata sees a duck, takes aim and fires.  I like how the final panel shows an emotionless Ogata pull his rifle back before the next page reveals the result.

Like any good cat, he comes bearing a gift for his current servants.  He holds up the duck to display and offer to Hijikata and Ushiyama.  With full on smug cat expression, he explains that he’s finally become accustomed to shooting with his left hand.

He looks like such a happy cat has he lifts the rifle off his shoulder.  Hijikata then asks if this implies that the sniper has completely recovered.  Ogata looks quite contimplative as he replies “No.  . . .”

The answer is defined by his final full page reply.

He can only be called a sniper when he snipes a person.  He’s now holding the rifle left handed indicating that he’s ready and he looks so confident.

Based on the fact that Usami predicts Ogata’s involvement in the search for Jack the Ripper, and that Ogata has now stated his ready to become a sniper again. It looks like Ogata’s sniping will begin again in Sapporo and Usami will be involved.

And with that our chapter ends.

As a card carrying Ogata fan, I was so happy to read this chapter!  Ogata, I have missed you sooo much and I’ve been waiting for more background for your mysterious motivations.

1.) Ogata feels guilty about killing Yuusaku.  The fact that Ogata said “Yuusaku-dono” in the hospital, the fact that he was being possessed by Yuusaku in chapters 164 & 165, the fact that when he was talking to Asirpa, he was talking to Yuusaku on the ice floe; all of these events show us that he does have feelings of guilt in regards to his actions.

However, I do not think Ogata’s guilt is because Yuusaku was his half-brother, it is clear that Ogata did not want Yuusaku’s love or attention as it likely made his already miserable life in the 27th even worse.  We know that Ogata was bullied due to his status as an illegitimate child (chapter 169).  From Ogata’s language around Yuusaku he saw him as a pure idol.  A man who was shaped to become a pure idol by his father and he was the dutiful son that Hanazawa expected from him. 

The pure idol concept is a connection that Ogata made himself between Yuusaku and Asirpa.  When he wakes up from his fever dream in 165 he knows that in his mind, Asirpa is a pure idol that Wilk shaped to lead the Ainu and ethnic minority groups into the future.  We as readers know that Asirpa’s personal value to not kill is something that she developed herself and it wasn’t something that Wilk told her to be or do directly.  But Ogata doesn’t know this, he assumes this from his own interactions.  That is why when he has his meltdown on ice he begins to talk to Asirpa like he picked up his converation with Yuusaku with the Russian POW from chapter 165. This is why Asirpa is a bit puzzled herself, Ogata is speaking her in terms that she doesn’t quite get since she is not Yuusaku but in Ogata’s mind they are cut from the same cloth and therefore in a way almost the same person.

Both Asirpa and Yuusaku were raised by important men who had a clear destiny laid out for their children.  Yuusaku was the dutiful son who was placed into a ‘pure’ job as a flag bearer even though he likely knew it would result in the loss of his son’s own life.  If Sugimoto can make the connection of Asirpa to Joan of Arc and he only read it in a shoujo magazine, we know that Ogata clearly knows of such examples as well and he learned enough from Kiro and Sofia about Wilk to know his motivations. 

I’m guesing he may have been able to see Wilk’s conversation with Sugimoto at Abashiri before he shot him as well, Wilk flat out tells Sugimoto that he raised Asirpa to be a guerilla fighter for Ainu independence.

Or Ogata already knew this and his time on Karafuto only confirmed his thoughts.  It doesn’t really matter, what we know is Ogata thought for sure that Wilk trained Asirpa to be the pure idol for Ainu independence.

What I’m really trying to hammer home is that Ogata, seeing Asirpa’s own personal code to not kill implied to him a need for her to be a pure Ainu idol, just like Yuusaku was a pure Japanese military idol. 

And Ogata clearly has indicated he doesn’t like how these men groomed their children into becoming pure idols who lead others into battle.  Those others lead into battle, such as himself, are supposed to feel better about their guilt of killing others as their idols remain pure.  But Ogata thinks that this is utter bullshit and that there are no pure people.  To cope with all of the trauma from his own life, he has to tell himself that people don’t feel guilt and that people are not that great.

Yet, the two pure people he has met both wanted to connect with him.  Yuusaku wanted so much for him to connect with Ogata and be his brother.  Now, Yuusaku was a next level dumbass in this regard as he clearly was making Ogata very uncomfortable, likely making his position in the 27th worse than it already was and in a way, his desire for an older brother was quite selfish.

Asirpa accepting Ogata and caring about him really throws him for a loop as she is not related to him, nor is she Japanese.  Perhaps, @goldenkamuyhunting​ and I’s crazy idea that Ogata is mixed race may play a part of this if Ogata is part ethnic minority from Karafuto.  It would make his connection to Asirpa more of a familial/genetic type again making him more uncomfortable. 

Yet, it is clear that he comes to accept her attention and he clearly cares about her on some level.  So when she tries to pull the same “purity” crap on him that he feels Yuusaku did he snaps.  I think what started it was when she told him she “There’s not a single thing I can trust about you!” He really lost it then as all these other people have lied to Asirpa and she trusts them but the one time he lies to her she knows immediately and rejects him.  And she had accepted him.  It hurt him. 

Ogata gets his wish when Asirpa accidentally shoots him.  His twisted smile, to me, indicates that he was like “Yes, she shot me!  There are no pure idols in the world.  My hypothesis is correct!”

This therefore, at that point in time shows Ogata that if only Yuusaku had more time, he too would have lost his purity if given the right circumstances. 

What I’m more curious is where this leaves Ogata standing in at the present in the manga.  We don’t know what he was thinking after he was injured, but I’m sure there were more fever dreams and deep thoughts about philosphical contimplations about the meaning of love, purity and family in Ogata’s overactive mind.

Did Ogata escape the possession of his soul by Yuusaku in chapter 165?  Or with the admission of his guilt in 243, does it mean this was a self-imposed ‘possession’ which was removed by Asirpa shooting him in the eye and he lost his sinning eye. 

It is also interesting that he replies to Hijikata that a sniper needs to snipe other humans to be called such, will he actually snipe to kill or will his sniping style change with  the loss of the eye and the guilt tied to it.

The fact that we still have yet to see Yuusaku’s full face implies to me that his guilt still remains and when Ogata confronts that guilt, we will see what Yuusaku actually looked like.

And this long first point is to conclude that Ogata feels guilty for killing an ‘innocent’ like Yuusaku, not because he was his half-brother but due to his commitment to what was expected of him by his father.

2.) Our interpretation of Ogata almsot always comes from another character’s interpretation of Ogata.  Throughout GK, Ogata has been framed in a rather unique fashion as a character.  Most of what is said and believed about Ogata is based on what other characters say about him and how they act with him. 

Sugimoto sees him as a traitor and can’t be trusted, though likely it is due to the fact that Sugimoto feels that he has betrayed others and he even goes on to betray Asirpa for 200 yen to Tsurumi.

Koito first sees him as an ungrateful son, and the son of a wildcat.  Therefore, Ogata is out to con others.  He may also think that Ogata should love his father as a second son, because he learned that his own father (Koito Sr.) loves him as the literal second son.  He later learns that Ogata killed Hanazawa and he has not given us any indication what this means to him.

Tsukishima sees him as a man who was angry at his father for hurting him.  When Ogata was given the chance to kill his father, Tsukishima thought it would have given him peace and a place in the 27th to continue to live off of Tsurumi’s sweet lies.

Usami sees Ogata as an individual who wanted Tsurumi’s undevoted attention and love.  Just as Usami gained love from Tsurumi through violence, he saw Ogata perform despicable acts to his half-brother and father but those did not get him Tsurumi’s love.  Ogata is just like Tomoharu in Usami’s eyes, another person taking attention from Tsurumi away from him.

Tamai saw Ogata as a capable solider and reliable.  Unfortunately as a member of the bear death trio we learn little else about how he saw Ogata as Noma and Oda seemed less keen on Ogata.

Hijikata knows he’s an unusual man who was under Tsurumi and as much as he deflects, he knows that Ogata has an intelligence background.  He keeps Ogata as far away from him as possible and makes Ogata travel with the other groups while he tries to figure out Kiro’s background.  Hijikata likely knows that Ogata has his own plans and he’s not going to tell him for sure.

What this has done for many readers of the manga is that they take what these characters say and do and use that to form what they also see Ogata to be.  But really, we have a bunch of unreliable narrators telling us who they think Ogata is, not who Ogata actually is.

When we examine Ogata’s own actions independent of what everyone else thinks, we see a different picture.  Ogata is an intelligent military man who pretty much calls things as they are, figures out things quickly, thinks on his feet and can command small groups of people effectively.  I really don’t want to belabor this point, I’ve written tons of meta about why I think Ogata is an interesting and capable character.

3.) Ogata is a philosophical guy.  This drives his interpersonal behaviors and likely is a coping mechanism with his poorly developed childish emotional maturity.  The flashbacks in 103, 164, 165, 243 as well as many things that Ogata have said throughou the manga or done all point to a man who is mature as an adult but who never got beyond basic child emotions. 

What is really interesting is that we see what Ogata is thinking, he asks others for their inupt, he finds more people and asks them questions which then allows him to change what he is thinking as he gets more information.  He is clearly constantly thinking and changing how he feels about family, love, guilt from killing.  The issue is that all of his behaviors are through a rational and logical thought process.  Sadly, he is not taking his emotions into his questions since he doesn’t really know what to do with his own emotions. 

We know that he does feel guilt from killing at least ‘innocent’ people and this may be where his self-control came from.  Think of when he was with Nikaido trying to snipe Tanigaki.  Nikaido didn’t care about Asirpa’s Huci and Osoma, but Ogata wouldn’t hurt them, he only wanted Tanigaki.  His character’s behaviors scream out that he wants to be loved and accepted by someone after a lifetime of bullying but he doesn’t even know how to go about it.

4.) Usami is super messed up.  I just felt that this makes a good point.  Usami is fucking nuts.  This chapter just gives us more information that Usami has his mindset and he sticks to it = Tsurumi loves him, he loves Tsurumi and he will be Tsurumi’s favorite.  Obviously, he’s indicating there will be an Ogata encounter.  Usami better be careful as Ogata’s sniping skills are back.

5.) Kikuta is likely relaying information to Ariko and Central Command perhaps.  As I stated when I first read the chapter and saw Kikuta’s remark about Ogata and Yuusaku, I was like, wtf Kikuta are you blind?  But then if you read the beginning of the chapter, Kikuta is gently nudging Usami to talk.  He drives the entire conversation and as Usami is so emotionally invested in it, he says so much that he likely shouldn’t.  This is exactly how Ogata got information out of Sugimoto when they first met in chapter 5.  Both men have worked in intelligence and they easily pull information out of others before they even realize it.  The fact that he asked Usami his opinion of Ogata makes me wonder if Kikuta knows more or he started asking Usami about Ogata as Ariko told him Ogata was in Sapporo with Hijikata and got injured somewhere.  Ariko was shocked to see Ogata as he thought Ogata was dedicated and loyal to Tsurumi. 

The fact that Kikuta literally left Usami alone in the street ‘investigating’ means he could be going to do his own intel exchange and he doesn’t have to worry about Usami snooping on him.  If Usami was supposed to keep an eye on Kikuta for Tsurumi in Sapporo, he’s doing a shit job. 

Well that is all that I have for now.  Apologies for the long meta, but it was so interesting and I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of points.

[kuramirocket]

In the last four years, Ioan Grillo traveled thousands of kilometers in crossings that took him from Mexico to the United States, Germany, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria and Colombia, while following a trail of iron and blood. 

Grillo asked an arms dealer in Bulgaria, “Are you worried that the weapons you sell, legally, may later fall into the hands of criminals or terrorists?" The man stared at him and said no.

The Mexican government recently filed a lawsuit against major U.S. arms manufacturers and distributors in federal court in Boston, arguing their negligent business practices have sparked bloodshed in Mexico by marketing to the country’s criminal underworld, “facilitating the unlawful trafficking of their guns to drug cartels.”

The complex world of arms trafficking and its intimate relationship with the rise of violence in countries like Mexico is the central theme of Grillo's book published earlier this year, "Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and Cartels." It's a comprehensive investigation that took Grillo around the world as he persecuted designers, manufacturers, distributors, traffickers and criminals united by a single product: weapons.

“The arms industry, like the drug industry, is fascinating because they move their products with the logic of globalized capitalism and the connections of their products. The big difference is that the weapons have serial numbers and can be traced,” said Grillo, an English writer and journalist who for more than 20 years has focused on the coverage and analysis of drug trafficking, violence and organized crime in Latin America.

According to a February report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives “found that 70 percent of firearms reported to have been recovered in Mexico from 2014 through 2018 and submitted for tracing were U.S. sourced.”

According to the Mexican government, at least 17,000 homicides in 2019 were linked to arms trafficking. Authorities estimate that more than 2.5 million guns have crossed the southern border of the United States in the last decade.

Grillo’s works were cited in the lawsuit filed by the Mexican authorities.

During his most recent investigation, he was able to reconstruct the history of an AK-47 rifle from the factory that made it in Romania, through its export to the United States, its sale and its subsequent entry into Mexico — where it was used to assassinate a law enforcement officer.

“Manufacturers go to great lengths to hide tracking data from the public, because they don’t want to link stores that sell guns to people’s deaths. They are ashamed,” Grillo said.

Noticias Telemundo asked Grillo about the recent lawsuit and his book's findings.

Noticias Telemundo: Many experts believe that Mexico's lawsuit is a symbolic gesture considering the gun manufacturers' legal shields in the U.S. Do you think it will have any practical consequences?

Ioan Grillo: The lawsuit in Mexico is a different and very interesting initiative because in the United States many changes in various industries, such as pharmaceuticals and tobacco companies, have begun in the courts. It is important because there are 11 very large companies that will have to bring their lawyers and undergo a judicial process.

In addition, there are precedents such as the lawsuit against Century Arms for the 2019 shooting in Gilroy, California, and the $33 million settlement reached by some families in the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook school with Remington. The fact that this is talked about in the news and that people comment on it is already a positive reaction.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation and the National Rifle Association responded to the lawsuit saying that the Mexican government is responsible for the criminal boom in the country. What are your thoughts on that?

Grillo: The United States does have a great responsibility in the trafficking of arms and the violence in Mexico. Although the Mexican Government must improve a lot, the influence of weapons that arrive through the border cannot be denied. Imagine if Russia sent 2 million firearms to Germany and that generated a wave of violence with 200,000 deaths — that would be inconceivable, right? Manufacturers have to take responsibility and see why their products are getting into the hands of the cartels.

It is not normal for someone to walk into a store and buy 85 firearms — someone in Florida to acquire a thousand guns for criminals which end up in Colombia or Puerto Rico and are used in murders. This shows that no basic attempt is made to slow down or reduce this traffic. And, in the end, companies are making a lot of money because there are millions of firearms.

In what year did your investigations detect the increase in the flow of weapons to Mexico?

Grillo: From 1994 to 2004 there was a ban that greatly reduced the sale of weapons of war. When they lifted it, huge purchases began to be registered and the war in Mexico began, before Felipe Calderón's presidency. Between 2004 and 2006, assault weapons became available as fights broke out between Los Zetas and the Sinaloa cartels. Then everything got worse.

What do the designers, manufacturers and arms dealers you interviewed for your book think of the violence unleashed by weapons?

Grillo: They often say that people have always used weapons and see them as tools that have a demand, and they satisfy it. As long as they comply with the laws in their countries, they do not see it as something strange. That is why governments must enact other measures to control this activity.

In many European countries, arms control have yielded good results.

Grillo: When the number of firearms in the streets is controlled, the number of deaths is reduced. In France, for example, after the terrorist attacks, restrictions were intensified, and that has decreased the attacks. In fact, many [of the attacks] are with knives, because the opportunities for terrorists and criminals to obtain firearms were shut down.

The explosion of mass shootings in the United States is one of the consequences of the absence of arms controls.

[dertaglichedan]

So-called ghost guns are touted as a significant threat to peace and prosperity in many of our cities. The numbers we’ve been able to find don’t actually support that, but I’ll acknowledge that the numbers do seem to be increasing.

That’s likely in part because the media keeps talking about these firearms, thus creating marketing for criminals to figure out there’s an opportunity there.

Regardless, many people take the threat seriously and many states and communities have restricted the sale of “ghost gun” kits and parts.

Los Angeles, for example, has such a ban and they sued Polymer80, which supplies many such kits, for violating the city’s law.

That lawsuit has now been settled.

Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced a $5 million settlement Tuesday in a lawsuit against Nevada-based Polymer80, permanently prohibiting the company from selling its “ghost gun” kits in the state without first conducting background checks of buyers and serializing its products.

As part of the settlement, the company must pay $4 million in civil penalties, and its two founders must pay an additional $1 million in civil penalties.

“This settlement holds Polymer80 and its founders accountable, keeps guns out of the hands of prohibited people, makes L.A. neighborhoods safer and will help law enforcement to their jobs,” Feldstein Soto said in a statement.

“More than 16,000 people have been killed by gun violence so far in 2023. This is an important step toward preventing unnecessary deaths, especially as Congress repeatedly fails to take action.”

Except let’s be real here, few of those 16,000 people were killed with “ghost guns.”

When we hear numbers of unserialized, homemade firearms, they’re a tiny fraction of the weapons recovered. Moreover, most of those recovered weren’t used in homicides.

When Illinois was set to pass its own “ghost gun” ban, we learned just how few people have been killed with such weapons. Now, that was a year ago, but in six years, we had a total of 325 homicides nationwide that were carried out with so-called ghost guns. While I’m sure that number has since increased

I’m sorry, but they’re not the threat.

Further, let’s also acknowledge the strong possibility that Polymer80 simply settled this lawsuit because they’ve got more going on and it was cheaper in the long run to pay out than to continue fighting. They have other battles going on, after all, and legal fights are expensive.

[college-girl199328]

For the last three years, Alberta police services have seen a new trend in illegal firearms: a surge in guns built using privately manufactured or smuggled parts that make them untraceable. These are often referred to as ghost guns.

"It's becoming a massive problem for Canadian law enforcement and the public," said Sgt. Richard Kurina is an officer with the Lethbridge Police Service who monitors southern Alberta and its border crossings as an RCMP National Weapons Enforcement Support Team. 

Canadian firearms laws regulate receivers, where information like serial numbers is stored. These privately made guns exclude regulatory information, causing challenges for investigations, prosecutions, and proactive operations. "Our crime gun picture has probably doubled or tripled," said Acting Staff Sgt. Ben Lawson of the Calgary Police Service's firearms investigative unit.

Calgary police seized 31 PMFs last year, including 16 3D-printed guns. That's about six percent of all crime guns in 2022, with one each in 2021 and 2020. 

The force also recently conducted two operations targeting 3D-printed firearms. One of those investigations seized three printers and five completed handguns, resulting in 66 charges against two men running the gun printing and trafficking operation in Calgary.

Edmonton police recovered seven 3D-printed firearms in 2022. The force only just started keeping statistics for them in southern Alberta said he was aware of a handful of cases last year involving 3D-printing operations last year, including in small rural communities.

That part of the province has also been seeing more Polymer80s—mostly assembled gun kits from the United States that people can finish with unregulated parts.

"In the last several years, we've seen an uptick or increased presence of privately manufactured firearms," he said, "and this is going to grow exponentially."

These untraceable guns, assembled in garages, basements, and warehouses or smuggled from the U.S., present new challenges for law enforcement. And police investigations are working to stay on pace with the developments, and I think we're on the beginning of that trend," said Doug King, a criminology professor at Mount Royal University.

"It's the age-old issue of how law enforcement and criminal law keep up with technological changes. Violence has in Alberta between 2017 and 2021; firearms-related offenses jumped 66 percent, according to Statistics Canada crime data. 

The Calgary Police Service said 126 shootings occurred in the city last year. That's 33 percent higher than in 2021 and 45 percent higher than the five-year average of 500 crime guns seized in 2022. The police were unable to trace the origins of half of them. 

Alberta's government is increasing support to tackle gun crime, including $4.4 million in this year's provincial budget to create firearms investigative and gang suppression units in the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams, an umbrella of multiple levels of law enforcement where there is no place for illegal activity in Alberta must be consequences for criminal activity," reads an email response from the minister of justice's spokesperson, Ethan Lecavalier-Kidney. 

"A proactive increase of resources to the Alberta Chief Firearms Office is part of our strategy to make our communities fund law enforcement with files like illegal firearms manufacturing, 3D printing, and more resources for Crown prosecutors. 

But law enforcement teams say it'll take more cooperation between forces and better follow-through on prosecutions to keep pace with the people manufacturing these guns. "One hurdle that I find is the follow-through on the prosecution of the offenses," Kurina said. 

This is the way to tackle PMFs. Instead of leaving it up to individual police agencies to do it, who are absolutely strapped right now in terms of workload, I think the federal government needs to step up and fund these kinds of interagency investigation units," he said.

Calgary police are working with the chief firearms officer to get information about the people and things involved in these crimes to assist in investigations are also trying to make sure police are providing the information they need to see charges through to convictions.

As law enforcement adjusts, Kurina says this will be a test for police because this type of activity is really at its core what the criminal use of firearms is in Canada and Alberta."

[forensicfield]

How To Recover a Firearm's Serial Number?

Firearms examiners are frequently presented with firearms that have illegible serial numbers. Criminals delete serial numbers in order to be "untraceable." Many culprits are unaware that even if they erase a serial unique code number, the unique code ....

(more…)

[ozarkbear]

>from 2016 to 2020, more than 23,000 un-serialized firearms were reported to have been recovered by law enforcement from potential crime scenes — including in connection with 325 homicides or attempted homicides

So of these guns, confiscated from "*potential* crime scenes," less than 1.5% of them were connected to a homicide or attempted homicide? But the gracious, benevolent government (which has been responsible for over 100 million democides in the last century, many of which the US govt is responsible for) want to make sure they can track them? But definitely "not" so they can register and confiscate them. Sounds to me like the proliferation of untraceable guns is not nearly as dangerous as the complete absence of untraceable guns.

Another issue is that 23,000 number is both guns that have never been serialized as well as guns where the serial number has been obliterated, I'll let you guess which one is much more common...

How much of that shit is actually in the US code and they're trying to make new law without going through congress?

I'm going to love to see the flood of court cases stating:

1. This regulation is in direct conflict with existing law.

2. The regulation is beyond the scope of regulatory authority in interpreting the law (overturn Chevron).

3. The law is unconstitutional anyway because Second Amendment.

4. The law is an unlawful exercise of Interstate Commerce powers (overturn Raich and Wickard v. Filburn.)

[phgq]

Northern Samar cops probe seized loose firearms

#PHnews: Northern Samar cops probe seized loose firearms

TACLOBAN CITY – The Northern Samar police provincial office will investigate the recovery of several loose firearms in the province on Monday.

In a statement sent to reporters Wednesday, Northern Samar police provincial director Col. Arnel Apud said they have to find out how these persons acquired unregistered firearms.

“I ordered a deeper investigation on the suspects who were caught with several firearms and ammunition. Likewise, I urged the public to cooperate especially those who have loose firearms,” Apud said.

At least eight persons were arrested in simultaneous operations on Feb. 1 in different towns in Northern Samar province.

“Our campaign directs local units to conduct operations against unregistered firearms that are in the hands of civilians and threat groups in the society,” Apud added.

The suspects were identified as Charlie Espinola, Erly Surio, Zaldy Espinosa, Joseph Paragas, Jude Lagrimas, Ernie Pajamutan Marc Laoreano, and Zaldy Corocoto.

Espinola, 23, laborer, of Progress village, Biri, Northern Samar, was arrested for illegal possession of cal. 45 Armscor pistol, a magazine, five ammunition, and a hand grenade after a search warrant was served to him in his house at 4 a.m.

After two hours, the Silvino Lobos town police served a search warrant to Surio, resulting in the confiscation of a cal. 38 revolver without serial number loaded with five ammunition.

In the island towns of San Vicente and San Antonio, Espinosa and Pajamutan were nabbed for possession of cal. 45 and unknown caliber pistol under a search warrant.

In Catarman town, Paragas, 37, a motorcycle mechanic, of Airport village, was caught in possession of a revolver cal. 38, three ammunition, and 11 sachets of shabu.

Mondragon town police also confiscated assorted firearms and ammunition from Lagrimas, 50, fish vendor, of Makiwalo village during the service of a search warrant.

In Lapinig, Laoreano was nabbed by police at a checkpoint. The suspect failed to show legal documents for the cal. 45 pistol on his possession.

Corocoto was arrested after he was caught in possession of firearms, a hand grenade, several identification cards, and subversive documents in a checkpoint established by Gamay town police.

Meanwhile, a total of 17 unlicensed short firearms were surrendered on Feb. 1 in police stations in Catarman, San Jose, Mapanas, Bobon, San Roque, San Isidro, Rosario, and Pambujan towns.

“Our effort to recover all loose firearms in the province will continue. Let this serve as a warning to those who are reluctant and defiant with our laws,” Apud added. (PNA)

***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Northern Samar cops probe seized loose firearms." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1129444 (accessed February 03, 2021 at 10:04PM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Northern Samar cops probe seized loose firearms." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1129444 (archived).

[paulbenedictblog]

%news%

New Post has been published on %http://paulbenedictsgeneralstore.com%

Cnn news 'I hate who he hates:' Literature eyed for motive in shooting that left 6 dead

Cnn news

A pair of armed suspects, one wielding an AR-15 style rifle, who killed three of us at a Jewish grocery store in Jersey Metropolis, Contemporary Jersey, moments after gunning down a police detective in a cemetery appear to non-public been motivated by "each and every anti-Semitism and anti-regulation enforcement" sentiments, officials acknowledged on Thursday.

The suspects, David Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, had been killed in an hourslong shootout with police on Tuesday but left a path of possible evidence investigators are combing via to search out out why they allegedly killed Jersey Metropolis police Det. Joseph Seals and centered the Jersey Metropolis Kosher Grocery store, officials acknowledged.

"In step with what now we non-public easy up to now, including in response to most up-to-date seek for interviews, we non-public that the suspects held views that reflected hatred of the Jewish of us as successfully as a hatred of regulation enforcement," Contemporary Jersey Attorney Customary Gurbir S. Grewal acknowledged at a news convention.

Grewal acknowledged killings are undoubtedly being investigated as "possible acts of domestic terrorism fueled each and every by anti-Semitism and anti-regulation enforcement beliefs."

Craig Carpenito, U.S. authorized skilled for the District of Contemporary Jersey, acknowledged the Federal Bureau of Investigation will bewitch the lead in the probe.

"The inducement clearly appears to be a bias towards each and every the Jewish community and regulation enforcement," Carpenito acknowledged. "Here's going to be investigated going forward ... as a domestic terrorism event."

The announcement got right here after regulation enforcement sources counseled ABC News that investigators had found spiritual writings by the suspects expressing abominate.

In a stolen U-Haul van, the suspects parked in front of the kosher market upright seconds earlier than launching a rifle attack. Investigators found a pipe bomb and spiritual writings, including a handwritten show studying, "I raise out this on yarn of my creator makes me raise out this and I abominate who he hates," a pair of regulation enforcement sources counseled ABC News.

Grewal acknowledged 5 firearms had been found at the scene, one an AR-15 style rifle that security video confirmed Anderson firing as he entered the grocery store spherical 12: 30 p.m. on Tuesday.

"We additionally recovered a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, which we non-public Francine Graham turn into once carrying as she entered the grocery store," Grewal acknowledged.

Investigators additionally recovered from contained in the store two other guns the suspects had been armed with -- a 9mm Ruger semiautomatic handgun and a 9mm Glock 17, he acknowledged.

Within the U-Haul van the suspects had been driving, investigators additionally found a .22-caliber Ruger Sign IV handgun equipped with a homemade silencer and a homemade intention to remove shell casings, Grewal acknowledged.

He acknowledged investigators recovered "several hundred shell casings" at the scene which investigators are processing to search out out what number of had been fired by the suspects and what number of had been fired by the police.

Grewal acknowledged that in response to 2 of the guns' serial numbers, the Mossberg shotgun and the .22-caliber Ruger, had been legally bought in 2018 by Graham at diversified gun retailers in Ohio.

"At this level, our evidence indicates that the shooters had been aiming their fireplace at regulation enforcement officers simplest and no longer at others on the avenue," Grewal acknowledged.

He acknowledged the investigation, up to now, has found no accomplices enthusiastic. He additionally acknowledged investigators non-public realized that Anderson and Graham expressed hobby in the Sunless Hebrew Israelites stream, a community that espouses hatred towards Jews and is essential for anti-govt and anti-police sentiments.

"We non-public got no longer definitively established any formal hyperlinks to that organization or to a different community. In step with the accessible evidence we non-public that the 2 shooters had been performing on their non-public," Grewal acknowledged.

In the period in-between, thousands of individuals of the Jewish Orthodox communities in Jersey Metropolis and Brooklyn, Contemporary York, gathered at cemeteries Wednesday evening to mourn and bury two of the victims, 33-year-old style Mindy Ferencz, the partner of the kosher grocery store owner and mother of 5, and 24-year-old style Moshe Deutsch, a Yeshiva scholar.

Deutsch's father, Abe Deutsch, is a member of the United Jewish Organization's board of directors, acknowledged Rabbi David Niederman, president of the organization.

“About a hundred bullets went into the body of a 24-year-old style tiny one ... how will we as a community, as of us, endure that?” Niederman acknowledged of Moshe Deutsch, in the course of a news convention Wednesday at Metropolis Hall in Contemporary York Metropolis.

The third victim killed at the grocery store turn into once identified by authorities as Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, 49, who labored at the store. Funeral preparations for Rodriguez are pending.

A funeral for Det. Seals, 39, a married father of 5, is scheduled to be held next Tuesday.

Contemporary Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy acknowledged the Jersey Metropolis incident is a wakeup call.

"The assassinate of innocent civilians attributable to their spiritual beliefs, and the assassinate of a police officer for the easy reason that he turn into once a police officer, should be the wakeup call to those who fail to gaze or acknowledge the rising tide of abominate right here in Contemporary Jersey, and spherical the nation,” Murphy acknowledged in an announcement. “Here's our heed to attain relief together as one of the best Contemporary Jersey household we're and recommit to the elimination of abominate in all its kinds."

The hideous episode began to unfold about 12: 38 p.m. on Tuesday when the Jersey Metropolis Police Department bought a 911 call from an particular person that found Seals' body in the Bayview Cemetery, about a mile from the kosher market, Grewal acknowledged on Wednesday.

He acknowledged investigators non-public Seals turn into once shot to loss of life when he confronted the suspects in Bayview cemetery. He acknowledged Anderson and Graham had been top suspects in the assassinate this past weekend of an Uber driver officials identified as Michael Rumberger.

Rumberger's body turn into once stamp in the trunk of a Lincoln Metropolis automobile spherical 10 p.m. Saturday, sources counseled ABC News.

Seals it sounds as if had gone to the cemetery on my own to satisfy the suspects and one in every of them will non-public been an informant he had labored with, per chance explaining why he felt cosy meeting in the cemetery with out backup or radioing in about the rendezvous, the sources acknowledged.

Seals, a plainclothes undercover detective, had been investigating the assassinate, in preserving with regulation enforcement sources.

After allegedly killing Seals in the cemetery, the suspects bought into the stolen U-Haul van and drove to the kosher market, arriving about 12: 43 p.m., Grewal acknowledged.

Security video, bought by ABC News, reveals the suspects parking without delay across the avenue from the grocery store on Martin Luther King Power, getting out of the auto conserving rifles and evenly walking into the grocery store as passersby on the avenue scrambled for quilt.

Grewal acknowledged four of us, including the three slain victims, had been contained in the store when the suspects stormed via the front door. A lone survivor, who turn into once shot and wounded, managed to fetch away, Grewal acknowledged.

Two foot-patrol officers had been about a block from the deli and answered as quickly as they heard the gunfire, Grewal acknowledged. They had been each and every shot and wounded in a gunfight with the suspects that enthusiastic other Jersey Metropolis law enforcement officials, he acknowledged.

The gunbattle lasted until about 3: 47 p.m. when a police armored automobile broke via the entryway of the grocery store and police found the our bodies of the suspects and the three victims inside of.

In addition to to the 2 other officers wounded in the shootout, a 3rd turn into once anguish by shrapnel, officials acknowledged. The officers had been all treated at a clinic and released.

ABC News' Rachel Katz contributed to this file.

[kansascityhappenings]

The gunman in the Saugus High School shooting used a ‘ghost gun,’ sheriff says

https://newsource-embed-prd.ns.cnn.com/videos/newsource-video-embed.js

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — The 16-year-old who killed two students and injured three others in a shooting at a California high school last week used a “ghost gun,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told CNN affiliate KABC.

Villanueva said the firearm was a “kit gun,” meaning it was assembled from separately acquired parts and had no serial number, making it untraceable to authorities.

“It becomes what’s known as a ghost gun,” he said.

These untraceable weapons can be assembled from kits bought online or at gun shows, Villanueva said, with the gun just partially assembled.

This allows buyers to sidestep the typical requirements that come with registering a firearm, including background checks, the Los Angeles Police Department and the ATF said in a news release last year.

“And then you can legally buy it, assemble the weapon yourself, and then you have a gun that is not registered and no one knows that you have it,” Villanueva said. “And that is very dangerous.”

The gunman, identified as Nathaniel Berhow, took a .45-caliber pistol out of his backpack at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita last Thursday and appeared to fire at random, authorities said, before shooting himself. He died the next day.

Authorities are investigating when the weapon was assembled, Villanueva said, and whether it was done by the gunman or his father, who died in 2017 of natural causes.

In the past, the father had six registered firearms, the sheriff told KABC. “Ultimately, at one point, all the weapons were lawfully removed from the home and he became a prohibited possessor,” he said.

Investigators found a kit gun during a search of the shooter’s home, Villanueva said.

A growing problem

Los Angeles has seen a rise in the number of ghost guns, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said last year. Detectives often recover them at various scenes of criminal activity.

Another ghost gun — an AR-15-type weapon — was used in a deadly shootout in Riverside in August.

A Utah State University paper published earlier this year said ghost guns are “particularly useful to individuals who are banned by police from owning traditionally purchased guns,” allowing owners to sidestep the legally required gun registration.

It’s not known how many ghost guns are in the US today, though one regional ATF office in California obtained 250 ghost guns in 2017 alone, the paper noted.

“That is one of the challenges of law enforcement today,” Villanueva told KABC, “because Congress and state legislatures enact all these crimes about gun registration. But now the gun industry is creating a way to just bypass the entire thing by creating a mechanism to manufacture weapons yourself.”

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/11/21/the-gunman-in-the-saugus-high-school-shooting-used-a-ghost-gun-sheriff-says/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/11/21/the-gunman-in-the-saugus-high-school-shooting-used-a-ghost-gun-sheriff-says/

[forensicfield]

Forensic Examination of Firearms

The forensic procedure of studying the properties of firearms or bullets left behind at a crime scene is known as forensic firearm examination. Bullets are linked to weapons, and weapons are linked to individuals, according to experts in this field.

The forensic procedure of studying the properties of firearms or bullets left behind at a crime scene is known as forensic firearm examination. Bullets are linked to weapons, and weapons are linked to individuals, according to experts in this field. In an attempt to locate the weapon’s registered owner, obliterated serial numbers can be raised and documented. The most commonly used reagent is…

[rolandfontana]

DOJ Seeking Guns, Parts Stolen From ATF Facility

The Justice Department has launched a multistate search for firearms and firearms parts stolen from a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) facility, CBS News reports. The main concern is that the weapons may fall into the wrong hands. Along with staging a criminal and internal affairs investigations, ATF officials notified the Justice Department’s inspector general, who has been critical of some ATF weapons disposal procedures. Authorities have one suspect in custody, Christopher Yates. According to court documents, officials found “a firearm concealed in a book bag on the front passenger seat floorboard” when they searched Yates’ vehicle on March 1.

Agents determined the pistol had a serial number on it. The ATF computer system confirmed the firearm had been listed as “disposed” by the ATF’s National Disposal Branch in 2017.  On Sunday night, officials sent a communication urging stepped up efforts to locate any stolen firearms from the facility. They were concerned buyers may not know where they originated. “ATF has made substantial progress in recovering the stolen property and is working around-the-clock to pursue all leads,” the agency said. An inspector general report last year said the destruction of firearms and ammunition is supposed to be “witnessed by an ATF Special Agent and a credentialed employee or contractor who then signs a report of destruction certifying that the firearm has been destroyed.” That same report identified concerns about ATF’s “ability to track seized ammunition.” ATF officials said there could be more arrests and that they did not know how many firearms or firearms parts were stolen.

DOJ Seeking Guns, Parts Stolen From ATF Facility syndicated from https://immigrationattorneyto.wordpress.com/