NORFOLK, Va. — People are stealing guns out of cars at an alarming rate in the U.S.
That’s according to a new study from the gun safety group “Everytown” that shows a sharp increase in the last decade. The group analyzed FBI data that shows the rate of guns stolen from cars has tripled in the last decade, making them the largest source of stolen guns in the country.
Ten years ago, a quarter of gun thefts were from cars. In 2022, that number jumped to more than half: 62,000.
The report from Everytown says on average, at least one gun is stolen from a car every nine minutes. However, that’s likely an undercount since only one-third of states require you to report lost or stolen guns.
Based on the FBI data, Portsmouth ranks in the top 10 for cities with the highest rates of guns stolen from cars in 2022 with 191 stolen guns. They were #10 in 2020, they've now jumped to #6 in 2022.
"These thieves are looking for firearms," said firearms instructor Joel Jones. Jones encourages people to set a reminder on their phone to take it inside or keep the gun on their person if they can.
"The best way is to keep your firearm on you and to if you’re not using that particular firearm, lock it up," he said.
He said a lot of times, people aren’t intentionally leaving guns in their cars. It’s easy to forget if it’s stored in your glove compartment, so you must be vigilant.
"You don’t want your firearm to get into the wrong hands," he said. "We don’t want it to get into the hands of minors, or children, or what have you. And we do not want it to get in the hands of bad guys, thieves, people who come in looking for things to one, commit a crime or two, make some money to take that firearm to sell it."
Data from the FBI in 2022 shows more than 1,000 total guns stolen from vehicles across Hampton Roads.