APD: 1,000+ guns stolen from cars

Police urge public not to leave firearms in their vehicles

In less than two years, thieves stole more than 1,000 guns in Albuquerque, either by taking them from a vehicle or stealing a vehicle with a firearm inside.

The police released the information this week, and asked the public to be careful and secure their weapons.

“The vast majority of gun owners are responsible and understand safety is always the top priority,” APD Commander Joe Burke said in a statement. “But the responsibilities extend to keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, or even others who are not trained to use them. That means locking up guns — in your home and in your vehicle. Don’t leave unsecured guns in your vehicle — in your own driveway, or in a parking lot when you’re shopping for groceries, or going to the gym.”

From July 2016 through March 2018, there were 1,035 cases of firearms taken from vehicles. In 882 cases, the guns were stolen from a vehicle. There

were also 153 cases where guns were left in cars that were stolen, according to police statistics. There could have been multiple firearms taken during each one of the cases, so it’s unclear how many guns have actually gone missing after people left them in their vehicle.

Gilbert Gallegos, a police spokesman, said those numbers include cases in which guns were taken from police officers. That occasionally happens; a 2017 Journal report found that in a two-month period in late 2016 into 2017, officers had weapons stolen from them five times.

The northeast area command, which covers much of the city north of Interstate 40 between Eubank and Interstate 25, had the most stolen guns cases. Guns were stolen from cars 320 times during the time frame. The southeast area command, which stretches southeast from the Big I, had 197 cases in the nearly two-year period.

APD’s request for people to secure their firearms comes as the district attorney is trying to create a task force and is calling for changes to state laws to try and stop gun violence in Albuquerque.

District Attorney Raúl Torrez recently convened a task force of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, with one of the goals being to address gun violence in Albuquerque. He restructured his office to create a gun unit that will focus on targeting repeat criminals with firearms charges, and in some cases try to have the cases prosecuted in federal court.