Law enforcement officers and officials with the City of Cleveland hosted a press conference on Tuesday to share the results of a multi-jurisdictional task force operation aimed at confiscating illegal guns.
The operation involved Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents and members of the U.S. Marshals Service as well as local law enforcement.
Authorities said that illegal guns and drugs were seized, and dozens of people were arrested following an operation that launched last winter with intelligence gathering.
The ATF used data they collected to identify locations where violent crime had ramped up. Then, they hit the streets undercover to buy guns from illegal sellers.
More than 240 guns were confiscated, and 59 people were arrested.
Out of those hundreds of guns, 46 were linked to 102 shootings, including 11 homicides. One gun was tied to 14 different shootings.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb issued the following statement:
You can watch a replay of part of the news conference below:
Note: Due to technical issues, only the first 15 minutes of the news conference was recorded.
U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko, ATF Director Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Marshal Peter J. Elliott, Mayor Justin M. Bibb and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley spoke.
Operation 216 was formed earlier this summer and was led by the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.
According to Cleveland Police Statistics, homicide, robbery, felonious assault, grand theft motor vehicle, and arson are all up from the same time last year.
