ATF traces 364K guns recovered from crime scenes

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) traced more than 364,000 guns that were recovered from crime scenes around the world in 2015, the agency said Friday.

Tracing guns from manufacture to purchase helps law enforcement investigate crimes, the agency said.

“Trace information can link a suspect to a firearm in a criminal investigation, identify potential traffickers, and detect international patterns in the sources and types of crime guns,” the ATF said.

{mosads}”Firearms tracing provides information on the movement of a firearm from the manufacturer or importer through the distribution chain in an attempt to identify its first retail purchaser,” the agency added.

The ATF announced Friday it traced guns found in Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean last year.

The ATF traced more than 17,000 guns found at Mexican crime scenes. Nearly 8,300 guns were found in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama.

More than 1,300 guns were found at crime scenes in the Caribbean. 

While Canadian authorities recovered more than 1,400 guns.

The study was conducted by the ATF’s National Tracing Center.