VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Author's note: the above video is on file from July 26, 2021.
Virginia Beach Police officers pulled two illegally possessed guns out of circulation Friday night.
The first, an AK-47 with a round drum magazine, was taken near 19th Street, according to Capt. Harry McBrien. A tweet from the department said it was loaded with 100 rounds.
"We are committed to keeping @CityofVaBeach safe and #DisruptingTheShootingCycle," McBrien wrote.
That was in the city's second precinct. In the fourth precinct, officers were taking another gun away from a convicted felon.
Capt. Scott Wichtendahl said the suspect (who wasn't named) had just bought a rifle and 250 bullets. He didn't say where this person was.
On Twitter, he urged residents to speak up when they saw people carrying guns like this in public.
Police chiefs around Hampton Roads have been working to crack down on illegal gun ownership.
In a roundtable with the police chiefs of the Seven Cities in July, leaders urged people to keep their guns locked and out of children's hands, and report firearms stolen if they do go missing.
In late August, Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate told 13News Now that burglaries, assaults, homicides and shootings were trending down for the city. However, violent robberies and car robberies were going up.
The Virginia Beach Police Twitter account thanked the officers who pulled the rifle and the AK-47 off the streets.