DENVER (KDVR) — Denverites are losing a lot of firearms to criminals.
Colorado law charges gun owners with a misdemeanor if their failure to securely store a firearm allows the weapon to land in a juvenile’s hands. In Denver, hundreds of weapons have fallen into thieves’ hands.
The Denver Police Department has received reports of 935 firearms stolen from homes and vehicles in the past 18 months from Jan. 1, 2021, through July 2022. They range widely in make, model and caliber.
Most were stolen from vehicles. DPD recorded 699 pistols, rifles and shotguns stolen from vehicles during this time.
Home burglaries are less likely to result in stolen firearms. In the same time, 235 firearms were reported as inventory stolen from residential burglaries. The firearms are mostly well-established manufacturers, including Colt, Smith & Wesson, Remington, Taurus, Glock, Sig Sauer, Savage and Ruger.
All kinds of firearms are stolen, from single-shot derringer pistols to shotgun/rifle combinations. Most, however, are semiautomatic handguns.
Of the stolen weapons, 587 were semiautomatic pistols — about 63%. Another 60 stolen handguns were revolvers. DPD records do detail 14 automatic pistols stolen, but this may be a reporting error considering the listed makes and models are largely semiautomatic.
Just under 13% of stolen guns, 118 in total, were rifles. This includes 44 semiautomatic, 30 bolt action, seven lever action and four listed as automatic. There were 72 shotguns stolen.