With more than 1,200 people shot in Philadelphia this year, the gun violence crisis has garnered the attention of federal agencies, local leaders and most of all city residents.
So what’s being done to stem the tide?
In an effort to garner more resources, Congressman Dwight Evans sent letters to Mayor Jim Kenney and President Joe Biden on Friday.
“We have an epidemic. We have a crisis,” said Congressman Evans.
On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a crackdown on five high gun supply areas. That list excluded Philadelphia.
Congressman Evans wrote the president to encourage additional ATF focus in Philadelphia.
“We must be sure that this city gets all the resources and efforts it needs,” said Evans.
The ATF has created a Crime Gun Enforcement Team in Philadelphia. It’s part of an “All Hands on Deck” initiative with Philadelphia Police, regional FBI, ATF and the U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
That crackdown program started in early April.
The ATF tells Action News that because of this new enforcement team, the time it takes to connect bullet casings fired at crime scenes to crime guns recovered has been cut down from months to days.
Original source can be found here.
