Crime & Safety

Maryland Gun Dealers Among Top 3 For Lost, Stolen Weapons

An ATF report reveals that more than 190,000 guns nationwide were reported lost or stolen in 2012.

Article by Bryan Sears, Senior Field Editor.

Federally licensed gun dealers in Maryland were third in the nation for lost or stolen guns reported in 2012.

Federally licensed dealers in Maryland reported 98 guns as stolen and another 886 as lost, according to a report released by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

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Pennsylvania leads the nation with 1,502 guns reported lost or stolen by federally licensed dealers. Texas was second with 1,263 weapons reported lost or stolen by federal dealers, according to the ATF.

The number of guns reported stolen or lost by federally licensed gun dealers represents a small portion of the total number of weapons reported lost or stolen in 2012 and an even smaller fraction of the actual number of guns lost or stolen that aren't reported.

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More than 190,000 weapons were listed as lost or stolen in a National Crime Information Center database. Of those, only 9 percent were from federally licensed gun dealers.

Texas leads the nation in overall guns reported lost or stolen in the national crime database, with 18,874. Maryland reported 1,964 total guns lost or stolen, including those from federally licensed dealers.


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