TOLEDO, Ohio —
An effort by the Toledo Police Department’s Gun Crime Task Force recovered a collection of illegally-owned firearms on Feb. 7.
An investigation led detectives to stop a vehicle, in which a collection of firearms was found. Among the weapons were two pistols, three shotguns, three AR-15 style rifles and drum magazines.
Chief George Kral expressed support and gratitude for the “fantastic job” the Toledo Police Department has done in getting weapons “out of the hand of those who break the law.”
He added he hopes that the defendant gets the maximum possible sentence if found guilty.
"There's 8 individual firearms. That could be 8 individual shootings. That could be 16 shootings. The individual that was in possession of those firearms was a felon and was also involved with gang membership with one of the gangs in the city. That in itself speaks volumes on what goes on and how they get their hands on guns," said Bill Noon, a detective with the Toledo Police Gang Task Force.
Firearms and illegally obtained or stolen weapons have been a constant problem, not just in Toledo, but nationally as well. Over 300,000 guns are reported stolen each year, and Toledo saw a 53% increase in gun thefts from 2010 to 2015.
Additionally, Toledo police took into possession 6,716 firearms from 2014 to 2019. Although not all were involved in crimes, at least 1,200 of those were rifles or shotguns.
TPD collects, on average, about 112 guns per month, according to data recorded by the department during these five years.
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