Faster than a speeding bullet

74% of guns used in N.Y. crimes come from out of state; 19% find a target within 3 yrs.

MOST NEW YORK guns used in crimes come from other states — and they are quickly put to deadly use. A staggering new report obtained by The News gives new details on the so-called “Iron Pipeline” of weapons flooding our area, and undermining our stringent gun control laws.

• Then used in most weapons crimes

• Tough laws here don’t curb flow – AG

ALBANY — A new report proves what has long been suspected — the bulk of gun crimes committed in New York involve weapons that originated out of state.

And even more frightening is how quickly the guns make it to New York.

Thousands of guns between 2010 and the end of 2015 found their way to the Big Apple and other parts of the state within a year of their last known purchase. And thousands more came here within three years of their last known purchase, the report by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office says.

Of the 30,606 guns found with complete transaction histories, law enforcement officials recovered 5,873 (or 19%) within three years of the last known recorded purchase, including 2,437 within just one year.

And a hefty one in five guns recovered after use in crimes were recently trafficked into New York.

The “time to crime” number, the report says, is a strong indication that the weapons were bought “with the intent to be diverted to criminal use.”

In New York City, 91% of the “time to crime” guns originated out of state, the analysis found. That’s the largest percentage in the state. Long Island came in second at 58%.

Schneiderman’s office pointed to a Buffalo murder in which a 9-mm. pistol was recovered in September 2012. The firearm was initially bought in Ohio in February 2012 before making its way into New York State.

“The data makes one thing abundantly clear: New York’s strong gun laws are being undermined at every turn by lax laws in other states,” Schneiderman said. “Even as we work to make our streets safer, the illegal guns most often used in violent crimes continue to pour into our state.”

Using federal data, Schneiderman’s office analyzed the transaction history of all 52,915 guns connected to crimes and recovered by law enforcement from 2010 through the end of 2015.

The report, “Target on Trafficking: Analysis of New York Crime Guns,” is the first statewide law enforcement effort to obtain and analyze such comprehensive crime gun data provided by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Schneiderman said.

Of the 46,514 crime guns recovered by police with a known state of origin, an incredible 74%, or 34,344, were first sold to someone in another state.

That influx of out-of-state guns soars above the 29% national average, the report found.

Of the total recoveries, about 75% were handguns, the weapon of choice among violent criminals, the report says. Of the 39,491 handguns recovered, 86% originated out of state.

“When you look at the illegal crime gun problem, it’s the handgun that’s killing people every day,” Schneiderman said.

A minuscule 6%, or 3,208, of the crime guns recovered belonged to the person who originally bought the weapon, the report found.

In the wake of the 2012 Newtown, Conn., elementary school massacre, New York enacted a series of gun control measures. They included expanding the ban on automatic weapons, banning the sale of high-capacity magazines and creating a system designed to keep the mentally ill from buying guns.

But even with the tougher laws, guns from states with weak gun control laws are wreaking havoc in New York, Schneiderman says.

The bulk of the illegal weapons come from six states that make up what’s known as the “Iron Pipeline” — Pennsylvania, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Ohio is also identified as a big supplier.

All have one thing in common — lax gun control laws, the report says.

With 4,216 recoveries, New York City has the Empire State’s highest concentration of likely trafficked guns from the Iron Pipeline states. Between 2010 and the end of 2015, guns that originated in Virginia made up 19% of all recoveries in the city, followed by Pennsylvania and Georgia, both at 13%, the report says.

Of the Iron Pipeline states and Ohio, only Pennsylvania requires background checks for private sales or at gun shows — and that’s only for handguns, the report says.

And only North Carolina of the seven states requires a permit to buy a handgun.

“From New York’s vantage point, the correlation between state and local laws and the source of trafficked guns is undeniable,” the report says.

Schneiderman recommends the federal government close the so-called gun show loophole and require universal background checks, something Congress has refused to do.

He also urged the feds to make gun trafficking a crime and that states require all handgun owners to have a license.

Schneiderman’s office will unveil Tuesday an online analytics platform that will allow law enforcement and the public to track gun trafficking patterns in their individual communities.

Gov. Cuomo, who pushed for passage of the 2013 gun control law, has repeatedly called on Congress to help stem the flow of illegal guns into New York.

“Washington needs to act, pass reasonable gun safety laws, and stem this bloodshed once and for all — and this report is one more reason why,” Cuomo said of the Schneiderman findings.