A new study on guns seized by Chicago police shows that suburban gun shops are a main source of guns used in crimes in the city, reports the Chicago Tribune. The research shows that 29 percent of the guns recovered on Chicago's streets between 2008 and the end of March were bought in the Cook County suburbs. Lake County, Ind., was the second largest source, accounting for six percent of the weapons.
The Chicago police obtained the data from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the agency that traces guns for local police, and the department turned to the University of Chicago Crime Lab for analysis. The study covers 17,230 guns the ATF successfully traced after they were recovered in Chicago. Many guns can't be traced because of their age or other factors, said Seth Bour, the Crime Lab's deputy director. As police look for a solution to the gun violence that plagues Chicago, the numbers help investigators identify the paths guns take from being sold legally to being carried illegally or used in crimes, said Roseanna Ander, the lab's executive director.