Police say stolen guns continue to be problem in Columbia
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The issue of stolen guns are a problem many U.S. cities face, including in the City of Columbia, which deals with the issue frequently.
"Firearms are one of those things that when they get stolen, a lot of times they pop up at crime scenes and we call them crime guns," Columbia Police Department Assistant Chief Lance Bolinger said.
On Monday, Steven Harris, 45, of Columbia was charged with four felonies, including stealing a gun after police accused him of shooting at another vehicle on Ninth Street early Sunday morning with a stolen gun.
However, Harris was just the latest person accused of being involved in a crime that involved a stolen gun.
In March, eight people were arrested and more than 34 guns were recovered in an alleged Columbia gun theft ring. One of the suspects arrested is accused of trying to sell the guns. According to Bolinger, a portion of the guns were allegedly stolen in a burglary in a northern county in Missouri.
A man who accidentally shot himself while pulling up his pants in a north Columbia gas station last week was also charged Monday with stealing a gun.
According to Bolinger, CPD has recovered 30 stolen guns involved in crimes so far this year, excluding the more than 34 recovered in March's alleged gun ring. In 2024, CPD recovered around 160, while in 2023, they collected about 180.
Bolinger said over the years, the department encountered instances where gun stores have been broken into and stolen from, but that occurrence is rare.
More commonly, Bolinger said police run into the problem where individual gun owners have their guns stolen from their homes or vehicles that are left unattended, typically overnight.
Dave Alley owns the gun shop Ammo Alley in Hartsburg. He said he recommends people refrain from putting signs at or around their homes that show they have guns inside.
Alley said he also urges people to keep their guns locked in safes, especially people who intend to leave them inside of their vehicles.
"If you can utilize the little personal safes for your handgun...something that you can attach with a cable or bolt to the vehicle where when you're not in the vehicle it's locked and it's not easily accessible," Alley said.
The biggest problem police face when trying to trace someone who stole a gun is a lack of people who know the serial number to the gun.
"The No. 1 thing I tell them is it's not going to be through DNA...most of the time we catch people by the serial number so we encourage everyone who owns a gun to make sure that they have all the serial numbers recorded," Bolinger said.
According to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, there were 58 reports of stolen guns in Missouri in 2023, resulting in 177 stolen guns.
