Philadelphia officials announce crackdown on missing and stolen guns

PHILADELPHIA (FOX 29) - Philadelphia officials announced a crackdown on gun owners who fail to report missing or stolen firearms.

FOX 29's Jeff Cole reports.

Early afternoon along the 1500 block of Reed Street in South Philly in late July of 2009, 18-year-old Darryl Pray argued with another man. According to his mom, Pray turned to walk away when his assailant pumped eight bullets into him. His life slipped away as he's face down on the street.

"When a mother loses a child to gun violence all I can say is that it hurts. I think about Darryl very single day," Kimberly Burrell said.

Pray was carrying a gun so was his killer. Weapons that flowed to them through the black market of illegal guns likely lost or stolen from the legal buyer.

"My son had a gun. The shooter had a gun neither in their names, period," Burrell said.

Philadelphia's DA says he wants to stop the flow of lost or stolen guns.

"A lot of the guns that are claimed to be lost and stolen never were. They were sold illegally and end up in the hands of people who commit crimes," Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner said.

Pa. law does not require gun owners whose weapons have been lost or stolen to tell anyone. Philadelphia does, but according to the DA, for the ten years the ordinance has been on the books nobody has enforced it until now.

After a 30 day amnesty, gun owners must call 911 if their weapons have been lost or stolen. Fail to report and get caught, it's a $2,000. If you do it again it's a fine and 90 days in jail.

Police Commissioner Richard Ross says the approach will help combat gun violence but is certainly not the only answer.

"There's not a tractor-trailer that pulls up at Broad and such and such and lets out a bunch of guns. That's not what happens. It hasn't happened for a number of years now," Commissioner Ross said.

The National Rifle Association did not return call for comment.

A spokesperson for the office of Attorney General Shapiro released the following statement:

"The Office of Attorney General is tasked with enforcing state firearms laws, including running the Attorney General's Gun Violence Task Force in Philadelphia."

"In the last year, the number of illegal guns seized by the Task Force has increased by 36 percent, and 184 guns were recovered last year. The number of gun investigations opened by the Task Force has increased by 90 percent since 2015.

"Attorney General Shapiro first voted for a statewide lost or stolen handgun reporting law in 2008 while serving in the legislature, and continues to believe such a law is smart policy, would protect municipalities and would help to combat the scourge of gun violence in our communities."

Watch the full press conference below: