Pennsylvania Crime Guns Trace Report
Pennsylvania Crime Guns Trace Report
Pennsylvania Crime Guns Trace Report
TRUTH ABOUT
PENNSYLVANIA
CRIME GUNS
Brady’s analysis in this Report is based on publicly available information posted on
the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Pennsylvania Gun Tracing Analytics
Platform. Brady assumes the data set is accurate as of August 2021 for purposes
of publishing this report. A copy of the data set as downloaded is available on file
with the author.
ABOUT BRADY
Founded in 1974, Brady works across Congress, courts, and communities, uniting gun owners and non-gun
owners alike, to take action, not sides, and end America’s gun violence epidemic. Our organization today
carries the name of Jim Brady, who was shot and severely injured in the assassination attempt on President
Ronald Reagan. Jim and his wife Sarah led the fight to pass federal legislation requiring background checks
for gun sales. Brady continues to uphold Jim and Sarah’s legacy by uniting Americans from coast to coast —
red and blue, young and old, liberal and conservative — against the epidemic of gun violence.
CONTENTS
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Key Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Pennsylvania Gun Tracing Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
What is the dataset? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Which agencies contributed to the dataset?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
How Brady matched PA crime gun data to FFLs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Data limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Trace Data and Supply-Side Solutions to Gun Violence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
What have we learned from this data? What solutions can be implemented?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
How will these solutions lead to fewer gun deaths and injuries?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Case Study: Lack of Compliance with Federal Regulations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Findings: Crime Guns in Pennsylvania. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
What types of guns are recovered and traced?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Case Study: Ghost guns are rising in popularity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Findings: Firearms Dealers and Indicators of Gun Trafficking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia as sources of crime guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Dealers responsible for the most traces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Case Study: Leading Supplier of Philadelphia Crime Guns Loses License. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Case Study: Limitations of the Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Dealers currently contributing to the crime gun problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Case Study: In Site Firearms and Law Enforcement Supplies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Current source dealers of guns used in homicides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Case Study: Sales practices of individual dealers have impact. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
IV BRADYUNITED.ORG
INTRODUCTION
Every gun on our streets starts somewhere, and trace data in the last 20 years, the amount has
the overwhelming majority have their origins been insufficient to develop the comprehensive,
in the legal marketplace. Understanding how life-saving solutions that we need.
guns — particularly those that have been diverted
from legal commerce to the underground market In this report you will find an analysis of the most
— make their way to crime scenes is essential to important gun trace dataset to be publicly available
crafting evidence-based and life-saving solutions in decades. Attorney General Josh Shapiro of
to the American gun violence epidemic. There Pennsylvania has released trace data for 186,000
is — or should be — nothing controversial about crime guns from over 150 law enforcement
this tracing approach. Epidemiologists and other agencies in his state, allowing the public to
scientists routinely study the origins of public identify, for the first time in decades, which gun
health challenges in order to develop effective dealers appear to supply the most guns to the
solutions, treatments, and preventative measures. illegal market. This data is publicly available on the
It is a key component of the scientific method. Pennsylvania Gun Tracing Analytics Platform.
Unfortunately, the best national data on the It is very important to note that the gun tracing
sources and paths of crime guns has been hidden dataset, while extensive, is not comprehensive.
from researchers, journalists, and the general It does not include crime guns recovered by local
public for nearly two decades. The gun industry Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies that have
successfully pushed the federal government to opted against sharing trace data. For that reason,
restrict public access to this critical gun trace data, the findings in this report are not the definitive
and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and picture of crime guns in the state.
Explosives (ATF) has aided the industry’s efforts
by adopting an overly broad interpretation of those However, this dataset should nonetheless enable
regulatory restrictions. Although some state and the public, policymakers, and law enforcement to
local law enforcement agencies have released gun hold the gun industry accountable for its role in
Like all data, gun trace data has its limits; its
insights, while key to understanding gun trafficking,
are just one part of that process. Earlier this year, KEY TERMS
Brady unveiled an extensive — and ever-growing —
database containing another piece to the puzzle:
WHAT ARE “CRIME GUNS” AND WHERE
ATF compliance inspection reports detailing federal
DO THEY COME FROM?
firearms licensees (FFLs) who have been issued
a warning letter or more severe remedy for cited A crime gun is a gun that has been recovered by
violations of gun laws. We encourage readers to law enforcement after being used — or suspected
also view that resource, the Gun Store Transparency of having been used — in a crime, or whose
Project, at www.gunstoretransparency.org. possession may in itself have been a crime. A
crime gun might be a stolen firearm, a firearm
found at a scene of a crime, or a firearm used in
As you read through these findings, keep in mind
a crime. Almost every crime gun has one factor in
that many of the 186,000 crime guns in the
common: It originated from a firearm manufacturer.
database are likely associated with one or more
A 2019 Department of Justice report estimated that
crime victim(s) and their families. If this were not
43% of all crime guns come from the “illegal firearm
staggering enough, the devastating ripple effects
market.”1 However, firearms obtained via such illicit
gun violence inflicts on families, neighborhoods,
commerce originate from somewhere, most often
and communities are not captured in these
starting with their manufacture, then distribution,
numbers.
and eventual sale by a licensed dealer. Determining
how legally purchased or manufactured firearms
Brady invites you to join us in advocating for
make their way to crime scenes is vital for law
solutions that address the supply side of gun
enforcement and policymakers aiming to identify
violence. We invite researchers to study this data
and address the origins of the illegal gun market.
and build on our analysis; we implore journalists
to report on not just the tragic results of gun
violence incidents, but how crime guns end up
in our communities; we urge lawmakers and law
enforcement to adopt life-saving, supply-side
solutions to gun violence; and we call on federal,
4 BRADYUNITED.ORG
WHAT IS “TRACE DATA” AND WHY IS IT (FFLs) in the United States are responsible business
IMPORTANT? owners who sell firearms in compliance with
federal, state, and local law. Only a small minority
supply the criminal market with guns; about 5%
When a firearm is found at or associated with
of firearm dealers are responsible for about 90%
a crime scene, law enforcement agencies have
of recovered crime guns.2 Because “sales volume
the ability to trace it through the federal Bureau
alone does not account for the disproportionately
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
large number of traces associated with these
(ATF). Local law enforcement agencies can enter
firearms dealers,”3 there is clear evidence that
the make, model, caliber, and serial number of
certain dealers behave in a way that contributes to
a specific firearm into the ATF’s eTrace system,
our nation’s crime gun problem.
allowing them to follow the flow of that firearm
from its legal construction or importation by a
manufacturer/importer, wholesaler, or distributor, WHAT IS THE TIAHRT AMENDMENT?
to a federally licensed firearms dealer, and finally
to the firearm’s original purchaser. However, at any Prior to 2003, ATF conducted and made public
point in this commercial flow from manufacturer/ an annual nationwide analysis on the origins of
importer to sale, firearms can be diverted toward crime guns. Unfortunately, in October 2003,
the illegal market. due to the lobbying efforts of the gun industry,
the Tiahrt Amendment was added to the 2003
It is vital that law enforcement not only trace federal appropriations bill. Among other ill-advised
crime guns via the eTrace system to determine policies, the Tiahrt Amendment restricted the
the origins of these weapons, but investigate ATF from spending funds to make raw trace data
patterns of diversion to the illegal market so these available to the public. In response, the agency has
patterns can be disrupted and the flow of crime adopted such an overly broad interpretation of the
guns stemmed. However, limitations upon local amendment that very little information related to
law enforcement agencies can be a barrier to such trace data ever makes its way to the public.
investigations; most have limited resources and are
either prohibited or discouraged from conducting Instead, the results of ATF firearm traces are
investigations outside their jurisdiction. Since many reported only to the law enforcement agency
crime guns come from outside the jurisdiction that originally recovered the crime gun and
where they are recovered, crime gun investigations entered it into the eTrace system, and that agency
often fall outside the local law enforcement must affirmatively opt into data sharing before
agency’s jurisdiction, requiring cross-jurisdictional any other agencies can see or make use of its
collaboration. Pennsylvania’s gun tracing database tracing information. As a result, there is often no
fosters this kind of cooperation between local law coordinated analysis of firearm trace data by local,
enforcement agencies, encouraging them to share county, or state agencies — and while the ATF
critical, life-saving information. produces an annual report listing the type, calibers,
and state of origin of traced crime guns, analysis
The majority of federally licensed firearm dealers and public availability of the data stops there.
6 BRADYUNITED.ORG
PENNSYLVANIA data used to create its maps and charts. The raw
data includes a row for every individual trace and
8 BRADYUNITED.ORG
business name, if possible. A portion of the older to-crime” firearms, as these matches are more
phone numbers could not be matched to a dealer likely to be accurate. Importantly, guns with a
name. short time-to-crime are also more likely to be
associated with gun trafficking, as explained in
NOTE: In all tables, when phone numbers returned the introduction.
a match in the ATF’s lists of Pennsylvania FFLs from
2014-2020, the name of the dealer is in ALL CAPS. Despite these limitations, the Gun Tracing
When a reverse directory was used to find the name Analytics Platform paints the clearest picture
of the dealer, the name is in normal case. of Pennsylvania crime guns and crime gun
sources since the late 1990s/early 2000s.
DATA LIMITATIONS
VIOLENCE
local authorities should give these specific
dealers greater attention. Importantly, gun
manufacturers must be pressured against
Most efforts to prevent gun violence injuries and supplying large crime gun dealers with firearms
deaths focus on the perpetrators of violence. These to transfer to the public.
demand-side efforts — whether public policy,
criminal justice reform, local interventions, or
2. Philadelphia has a home-grown crime
social service programs — are necessary to save
gun problem; to a lesser extent, so does
lives. Alone, however, they are insufficient to end
Pittsburgh. Each of these cities grapples
America’s epidemic of gun violence.
with crime guns that mostly originate from
dealers in that city. Local police and elected
A supply-side approach to gun violence prevention officials should be aware of these local crime
focuses on the supply of crime guns, encouraging gun sources and hold them accountable for
elected officials, community members, and law contributing to their city’s gun crime problem.
enforcement to address not just the shooter, but For example, law enforcement agencies in
also the supply chain and source of the gun. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh can partner with
the ATF and other federal agencies to ensure
By holding gun dealers, manufacturers, firearms regulations and laws are enforced in
and distributors accountable when they act their jurisdictions.
irresponsibly, local communities could reduce
homicide and shooting rates in even the most 3. Dealers with the most traces tend to be
impacted neighborhoods. In other words, a supply- independent businesses, but aggregate
side strategy is a critical aspect of a comprehensive traces to chain stores show that their sales
public health approach to reducing gun violence. practices also need improvement. Dealers
with large numbers of traces should implement
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM THIS stronger business practices to prevent sales to
DATA? WHICH SUPPLY-SIDE SOLUTIONS straw purchasers and/or gun traffickers. When
CAN BE IMPLEMENTED? dealers are part of large corporate chains, this
implementation should be wide-scale across
1. A small number of Pennsylvania dealers all locations. Doing so will have a measurable
account for a majority of Pennsylvania crime impact and benefit all areas of the state. These
guns. This is consistent with the findings of prior changes should be made proactively by the
national studies and indicates that the crime industry, without the prompting of government
gun problem can be reduced significantly by action — although legislatures can and should
10 BRADYUNITED.ORG
codify such requirements if the industry fails to all laws and regulations. Because the federal
act voluntarily. For more information about safe government has failed to hold these dealers
gun industry business practices, see Brady’s accountable (see case study on page 13), state
Gun Dealer Code of Conduct. and local governments must step in. Doing so is
likely to change gun supplier behavior and business
4. Crime guns circulate long after their practices, which will result in fewer gun sales to gun
dealers go out of business. While improving traffickers and straw purchasers.
and strengthening dealer business practices will
eventually reduce the number of guns on the The evidence shows that changing dealer behavior
streets, the impact will take time to be felt, as will reduce the flow of guns into the illegal market.
guns are durable goods which can be used for We know from criminal indictments, for example,
many years. In the short term, focusing on the that gun traffickers identify and choose stores
dealers making the largest contributions to the where they can most easily conduct a straw
flow of crime guns is an effective strategy, but purchase, then return to those stores again and
consistently enforcing state, local, and federal again. We also know that the type of firearms a
laws and regulations is imperative to ensuring dealer sells can attract gun traffickers — and that
more firearms are not added endlessly to the if the most desirable guns are no longer sold, fewer
number of crime guns in circulation. of those guns will be recovered in crime.7 Finally,
we know that holding dealers accountable, either
HOW WILL THESE SOLUTIONS LEAD TO through greater enforcement8 or legislation,9 results
FEWER GUN DEATHS AND INJURIES? in fewer crime gun traces to those dealers.
Significant progress against gun trafficking and If fewer guns are available in the illegal market
gun crime will be made if elected officials and in a given city, the result is likely to be lower gun
law enforcement require better training of gun crime.10
shop employees and ensure dealers are following
Despite the varying number of law enforcement across years, as well. This consistency means that
agencies reflected in the database each year, the data is likely to be more reliable and accurate
there is remarkable consistency across the most than if there were greater variation across years.
recent three years, likely because nearly one-third
of the records result from traces conducted by
one agency: the Pennsylvania State Police. For
example, in each year the majority of guns are
traced to in-state dealers. In addition, the number
of guns that may have been trafficked is similar
in each year, as measured by short time-to-crime
of three years or less. The types of crimes that
resulted in the guns’ recovery are fairly consistent
14 BRADYUNITED.ORG
WHAT TYPES OF GUNS ARE RECOVERED Chart A shows the frequency of each type of gun
AND TRACED? recovered by year. Handguns (pistols, revolvers,
and derringers) make up just under 80% of all
traced guns. Handguns are likely to be popular
Looking at traces from 2018 to 2020, the most
among gun traffickers due to their smaller size
“typical” gun recovered in Pennsylvania is a 9mm
and easy concealability, yet many handguns,
pistol made by Smith & Wesson.
particularly semi-automatic handguns, have just
as much firepower — and can shoot just as many
rounds — as larger guns.
Chart B shows the most frequent calibers of traced of bullets, caliber is often a delineation of potential
guns each year, with 9mm being the most common lethality or destructive capabilities. For example,
in all years, significantly more than the second a 9mm caliber bullet hits with more impact and is
most frequently traced firearms (.22 caliber). considered both more lethal and destructive than a
Caliber is used to describe the size of a rifle or .22 caliber bullet (although both are lethal). Caliber
handgun bore (the internal barrel measurement) differentiation can also indicate whether a specific
and the size of cartridges (bullets) designed for firearm is a rifle or a handgun.
different bores. Most easily described as the size
Finally, the data reveals the make and Most of the top manufacturers of recovered and
manufacturer of guns recovered and traced by law traced firearms in the database are based in the
enforcement. Not surprisingly, popular handgun U.S., except Glock, HS Produkt, and Walther, which
manufacturers are at the top of the frequency are European companies. In addition, Beretta
chart, but the database includes firearms from 63 Pietro (Italy) and Beretta USA both appear in the
different gunmakers. database, but only Beretta USA appears among the
top 19.
Table 2 lists the 2018-2020 top 20 most frequently
recovered and traced firearms by manufacturer.
Guns made by Smith & Wesson, Glock, Taurus,
and Ruger are recovered and traced at rates
substantially higher than the next most common
makes of firearms.
16 BRADYUNITED.ORG
TABLE 2: MANUFACTURERS OF MOST FREQUENTLY TRACED FIREARMS
MANUFACTURER 2020 2019 2018
Smith & Wesson 1,396 1,459 1,522
Glock 1,311 1,203 1,000
Taurus 1,120 1,137 1,011
Ruger 879 998 906
HS Produkt 327 290 265
Remington 275 341 289
SIG Sauer 265 206 198
Unknown 197 285 178
Savage 182 206 206
Marlin 181 206 183
Mossberg 167 203 229
SCCY Industries 150 120 136
Walther 150 124 125
Beretta USA 144 147 127
Hi-Point 144 184 184
Harrington and Richardson 143 180 231
(ceased production in 2015)
Colt 141 171 178
Winchester 131 145 172
Keltec 127 142 155
Knowing the makes, models, and calibers of the “junk” guns. Trace data from the time showed that
most frequently recovered crime guns provides these guns were used in a disproportionate amount
insight into the preferred firearms of the criminal of gun crime.
market. This information is important to share with
gun dealers so that they can exercise especial While the lowest-priced handguns from the top
diligence in transferring such firearms. It is also makers now retail around $400 (although Keltec
important information for manufacturers, who has a current model with a list price of $199), some
should make every effort to avoid designing, cheap handguns from the Saturday Night Specials
pricing, and/or marketing firearms in ways that era are unfortunately still on the streets and being
appeal to the criminal market. used in crime, as shown in Table 3, which lists
guns in the gun tracing database made by the most
One case in point includes a set of manufacturers notorious “junk” firearm firms. Even in the most
that produced popular low-quality, cheap (less recent three years, between 300 and 500 of these
than $15011), short-barrel handguns in the 1990s, inexpensive firearms have been recovered and
commonly called “Saturday Night Specials’’ or traced.
Brady filed a lawsuit against manufacturer Hi-Point Firearms in 2005, representing Daniel
Williams. Williams was shot and injured with a trafficked handgun in a drive-by shooting
in Buffalo, NY, at age 16 while he played basketball near his home. The lawsuit won
critical precedent-setting victories: the first New York appellate decision holding that a
gun manufacturer, distributor, and dealer can be held liable for a criminal shooting; one
of the first decisions in the nation holding that the federal gun industry protection law, the
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), does not provide gun companies with
the sweeping immunity they claim; and a landmark summary judgment ruling that the gun
distributor violated federal law in the sale.
Because guns are durable goods, they can have database, only 45% were traced to dealers that are
a longer life than the store from which they were now closed, indicating that today’s dealers are still
purchased. In fact, of the 91,689 crime guns in contributing significantly to the flow of crime guns.
the database traced to Pennsylvania dealers, 60%
were traced to an original sale by a dealer that is
no longer in business, as shown in Chart C. Yet of
the 46,635 guns traced to the top 50 Pennsylvania
dealers that appear most frequently in the
18 BRADYUNITED.ORG
CHART C: TOTAL GUNS TRACED TO DEALERS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS V.S.
IN BUSINESS
INDICATORS OF GUN Because past trace data on the national level has
TRAFFICKING
indicated that very few dealers are the source of
the majority of crime guns, we were interested in
testing whether that trend holds true today. Indeed,
This report focuses only on the dealers in the Gun 50% of the crime guns in the database traced to
Tracing Analytics database that are located in in-state dealers were sold by just 1% of the dealers,
Pennsylvania. These 4,318 dealers account for while 90% of the crime guns were sold by 20% of
91,689 traces, or about half of the total traces in the dealers. Thus, there is a small concentration of
the database. The rest are traced to unknown or dealers contributing to the crime gun problem.
out-of-state dealers and are not reflected in our
analysis.
Furthermore, these dealers are concentrated
geographically. Chart D depicts the Pennsylvania
The largest number of traces attributable to a single counties to which 70% of crime guns can be traced.
dealer is 3,652, while 1,682 dealers appear in the While the counties in which Philadelphia and
database with only one traced gun attributed to Pittsburgh are located have the greatest frequency
them. The average number of traces per dealer of traces, most of the rest are in the southeast
in the database is 21; the median is two. These around the Philadelphia metro area.
22 BRADYUNITED.ORG
TABLE 4: ALL DEALERS APPEARING AT LEAST 200 TIMES IN TRACES OF GUNS
RECOVERED IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
# OF DEALER NAME IN YEAR CITY
TRACES BUSINESS? CLOSED
2842 Colosimo’s N 2009 PHILADELPHIA
Note: Traces to manufacturers or law enforcement agencies are not included in this table.
Note: Traces to manufacturers or law enforcement agencies are not included in this table.
24 BRADYUNITED.ORG
CHART F: ORIGIN OF CRIME GUNS RECOVERED IN THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH
DEALERS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MOST are located in the southeastern region of the state.
TRACES The majority are independent stores, but two are
part of the large national Cabela’s/Bass Pro Shops
chain.
Table 6 lists the 31 Pennsylvania gun stores that
appear most often in the full dataset of 91,689
guns traced to in-state dealers. Nearly half of these
stores are closed or no longer selling firearms. Most
14 1131 UNKNOWN N ?
26 BRADYUNITED.ORG
CASE STUDY:
LEADING SUPPLIER OF parents, a settlement was reached, and the ATF
PHILADELPHIA CRIME GUNS LOSES revoked Lou’s license on July 31, 2006.
LICENSE12
It’s clear why Lou’s was popular with gun
The story of Lou’s Jewelry and Loan (now Lou’s traffickers. According to one convicted trafficker,
Jewelry and Pawn) shows the impact of taking legal Lou’s, unlike other gun stores, asked no questions
action against a reckless gun dealer. about his gun purchases: “The salesman didn’t
ask me anything. He didn’t ask like, ‘What type of
sport you go after?’ or ‘Is you a hunter?’ He said
Once ranked with the most crime gun traces in
nothing, it was like no interest.” At other gun stores,
Pennsylvania,13 Lou’s was able to operate for 20
this trafficker experienced a barrage of questions
years despite repeatedly selling multiple guns to
when attempting to buy a gun: “They asked you,
gun traffickers and felons, flooding the streets of
‘What’s it for?’ And, ‘What game you’re going for?’
Philadelphia with crime guns, and profiting from
Questions like that.”
every deadly sale. Lou’s supplied straw purchasers
and traffickers, including Saad Abdul Salaam,
who in turn supplied a co-conspirator in the 1993 Did revoking Lou’s license improve public safety?
World Trade Center bombing. Guns from Lou’s According to the Pennsylvania gun trace data, it
were used by criminals and juveniles in all manner appears likely. From 2000 through 2006, the year
of violent acts, from the killing of police officer of revocation, Lou’s was associated with 1,188
Lauretha Vaird by a bank robber to the killing of traced guns — an average of 170 crime guns
14-year-old Anthony Oliver, Jr. In 2004, Anthony each year. Between 2007 and 2013, however, the
was killed with a gun that Lou’s sold to a trafficker. number of guns traced to Lou’s dropped to 548 —
Anthony’s parents had enough; they brought a civil an average of 78 crime guns per year.
lawsuit against Lou’s. Brady represented Anthony’s
759 Kmart N 18
Lanco Tactical 23
Tri-State Tactical 7
Delaware 2 Targetmaster 1149
30 BRADYUNITED.ORG
FIRING LINE INC 57 10 30 9 PHILADELPHIA
Some portion of these short time-to-crime guns were likely obtained in individual sales of
multiple guns, which is also an indicator of potential gun trafficking. In 2020, 330 of the
recovered crime guns with a TTC of three years or less were purchased in a multiple-gun buy.
The database indicates that Piestraks Gun Shop, for example, sold 22 guns with a short TTC,
13 of which were sold in multiple-gun buys. More research on the multiple-gun purchases in the
Gun Tracing Analytics database is needed.
CURRENT SOURCE DEALERS OF GUNS important to remember that each homicide is a life
USED IN HOMICIDES lost and a family left behind.
As noted in Table 1, most of the crime guns in the To focus again on current dealers’ contributions
database are not associated with violent crime. to the problem, in Table 10 we show the dealers
Of the 91,689 traces to dealers in Pennsylvania, who account for three or more of the 185 homicide
19,673 were recovered in an investigation into a guns recovered in 2020. For each dealer, the table
violent crime. Of these, 3,136 are associated with presents the number of traces related to homicide
a homicide. While the number of homicides is in 2020, the average TTC of those traced guns, and,
low compared to the total number of traces, it is if known, whether at least two of that dealer’s guns
were traced to the same possessor. This is relevant
32 BRADYUNITED.ORG
because law enforcement will often seize and trace Remember, to have multiple crime guns traced to a
all guns in the possession of a suspect, not just dealer in one year is rare. To have multiple homicide
the guns used in the crime or found at the crime guns traced to a dealer in one year is a strong
scene. For example, three of the four homicide- indicator that the dealer is not doing nearly enough
related guns traced to Miller Sporting Goods less to prevent the store from contributing to gun crime.
than a month after they were sold were found in the
possession of one person. These guns may have
been bought in a multiple-gun purchase.
TABLE 10: DEALERS WITH MORE THAN THREE HOMICIDE-RELATED GUN TRACES
IN 2020
DEALER 2020 HOMICIDE AVG. TTC AT LEAST 2 GUNS WITH
TRACES (YEARS) SAME POSSESSOR?
ACE SPORTING GOODS 9 4.41
TARGETMASTER 6 5.18
36 BRADYUNITED.ORG
ENDNOTES
1. Mariel Alper and Lauren Glaze, “Source and Use of 9. Crifasi, et al. 2017. “The Initial Impact of Maryland’s
Firearms Involved in Crimes: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016,” Firearm Safety Act of 2013 on the Supply of Crime Handguns
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, in Baltimore.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of
Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2019. the Social Sciences 3(5), 128-140.
2. ATF, Commerce in Firearms in the United States 22 (Feb. 10. Cook, et al. 2007. “Underground gun markets.” The
2000). Economic Journal, 117(524).
3. ATF. Report to the Secretary of the Treasury on Firearms 11. Wright, Wintemute & Webster (2010), Factors Affecting a
Initiatives (2000). Recently Purchased Handgun’s Risk for Use in Crime under
Circumstances That Suggest Gun Trafficking.
4. ATF, Commerce in Firearms in the United States 2 (Feb.
2000). 12. Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “Lethal Lou’s:
Profile of a Rogue Gun Dealer.” September 2006
5. ATF, Commerce in Firearms in the United States 22, n. 37
(Feb. 2000). 13. Americans For Gun Safety Foundation. “Selling Crime:
High Crime Gun Stores Fuel Criminals.” January 2004.
6. ATF, Crime Gun Trace Analysis Report, Youth Crime Gun
Interdiction Initiative, February 1999 14. Aspril, Joshua. “Handgun Licensing More Effective at
Reducing Gun Deaths than Background Checks Alone,” June
7. Webster, et al. 2006. “Effects of a Gun Dealer’s Change in 13, 2019.
Sales Practices on the Supply of Guns to Criminals.” Journal of
Urban Health 83(5).
38 BRADYUNITED.ORG
Column Heading Description of data
Firearm>Origin Country of origin of the firearm as a two-letter code
Firearm>Origin Country Name Country of origin of the firearm
Firearm>Type Same as Firearm>Type Desc, as a one- or two-letter code
Firearm>Type Desc Describes type of firearm (pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, Derringer, other)
General crime group (table filter) Same as Crime Category column
Handgun count *unknown*
In-state vs out-of-state Whether the FFL that sold the gun originally is located in Pennsylvania or out-
of-state
Number of Records *unknown*
Possessor>Indiv Dob Date of birth of the individual who possessed the firearm at the time of
recovery
Possessor>Indiv Pob City City of birth of the individual who possessed the firearm at the time of
recovery
Possessor>Indiv Pob Country Country of birth of the individual who possessed the firearm at the time of
recovery
Possessor>Indiv Pob County County of birth of the individual who possessed the firearm at the time of
recovery
Possessor>Indiv Pob State State of birth of the individual who possessed the firearm at the time of
recovery
Possessor>Indiv Role Code for possessor = S
Possessor>Indiv Seq *unknown*
Purchaser age at purchase Age of purchaser at the time of purchase
Purchaser age bins Age of purchaser within a range of years
Purchaser>Indiv City City of residence of firearm’s original purchaser at time of purchase
Purchaser>Indiv Country Country of residence of firearm’s original purchaser at time of purchase
Purchaser>Indiv County County of residence of firearm’s original purchaser at time of purchase
Purchaser>Indiv Dob Date of birth of firearm’s original purchaser
Purchaser>Indiv Involve Date Date of purchaser’s purchase of firearm
Purchaser>Indiv Pob Country Country of birth of firearm’s original purchaser
Purchaser>Indiv Pob County County of birth of firearm’s original purchaser
Purchaser>Indiv Pob State State of birth of firearm’s original purchaser
Purchaser>Indiv Race Race of the firearm’s original purchaser
Purchaser>Indiv Race (group) Race of the firearm’s original purchaser, including “unknown”
Purchaser>Indiv Role Code for purchaser = P
Purchaser>Indiv Seq *unknown*
Purchaser>Indiv Sex Sex of the firearm’s original purchaser
Purchaser>Indiv Sex (group) Sex of the firearm’s original purchaser, including “unknown”
Purchaser>Indiv State State of residence of firearm’s original purchaser at time of purchase
PURCHASER>INDIV_HEIGHT Height of purchaser in inches
PURCHASER>INDIV_POB_CITY City of birth of firearm’s original purchaser
PURCHASER>INDIV_WEIGHT Weight of purchaser in pounds
40 BRADYUNITED.ORG