Atlanta's Gun Problem: More Than 1,600 Firearms Stolen in Vehicle Break-Ins

ATLANTA, GA — For a short time, it was a startling number. At least 850 guns were stolen from cars in Atlanta in 2015. The information was published earlier this week by The Trace, a nonprofit monitoring gun violence. By the end of a week — and following a high-profile accidental shooting of an Atlanta executive inside an SUV — we learned gun thefts from cars is even worse this year.

A new report found that more than 800 guns have already been stolen from Atlanta cars in 2016 — outpacing that 2015 total that was already far more than any other large city examined by The Trace.

This past week, thieves reportedly broke into 50 cars in two Midtown parking lots, stealing 15 guns, according to the AJC. That followed 70 cars broken into last week. In that case, the suspects were walking alongside the getaway car, and randomly breaking into cars that they passed, a police spokesperson told local media.

According to the study by The Trace, a nonprofit news website covering gun issues, thieves were stealing guns out of Atlanta vehicles at a rate of more than two a day in 2015. We're pacing at nearly three a day for 2016.

Atlanta police have seemingly acknowledged the rise in gun thefts from vehicles, releasing a public service announcement in September that urges residents to secure their firearms.

"Store your firearm in a safe location," Senior Officer Pete Fite says in the video. "A car is not a safe location."

The issue of guns in vehicles came into stark light this past week, when a spokesman for Claud "Tex" McIver said the Atlanta attorney accidentally shot Diane McIver, his wife, in a vehicle because he was worried about carjackers.

Bill Crane told several media outlets that Tex McIver pulled the gun in fear of carjackers when the gun accidentally went off and shot his wife, who was sitting in the front seat of the SUV. The incident happened near Piedmont Park late Sunday night. Diane McIver was taken to Emory University Hospital and died from her injuries early Monday morning.

• See also: Buckhead Executive Accidentally Shot By Husband: Report

Diane McIver served as president of Corey Airport Services, an Atlanta-based marketing company whose logo adorns a smokestack-like structure on the downtown connector. According to his bio on the firm's website, McIver's legal career spans 40 years from the military to private practice. He is also a member of the American Bar Association's committee on gun violence.

Addressing Gun Thefts — In Two Different Directions

City Council person Ivory Lee Young Jr. told The Trace that the gun thefts spoke to a trend of irresponsibility by gun owners.

“If you own a weapon, you have a responsibility to care for it, to keep it, and not just in how you operate the weapon, but how you store the weapon,” Young said.

In an interview with Patch, Jerry Henry, executive director of GeorgiaCarry.org, said, "People who leave their guns in their car are inviting theft. I don't know the specific neighborhoods in which these guns were stolen, and I'm not sure if anyone has those specifics, but if the guns were stolen in downtown, it's the fault of the gun laws now on the books.

"If people didn't have to leave their guns in their car when they go into certain places, those guns wouldn't be there for anyone to steal."

Henry argues that Georgia should allow firearms to be carried into more public places. "Our first president, Ed Stone, had two guns stolen from his vehicle, but he pointed out that none had ever been stolen from his hip," Henry said.

Earlier this year, Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed a bill that would have allowed students on Georgia public college campuses to carry their firearms into more common areas.

Reports of stolen guns also have been an issue for the newly created Atlanta public schools police department. In June, an anonymous tip to the Atlanta police department led to a report that more than 30 Glock handguns had been stolen from the department. After weeks of investigations, the school district found that none had indeed been stolen, and that all of its handguns were accounted for.

See also:

• Atlanta Schools: None Of Our Guns Have Been Stolen
• KSU Professor Arrested; Campus Carry Passes Georgia
• Atlanta Airport Has New Policy on Concealed Carry Weapons
• Shooting Victim Identified As Prominent Buckhead Executive
• Woman, Shot Killed in Car Near Piedmont Park

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