ST PAUL, Minn. — It's a scene being played out time and time again across Minneapolis involving gunshots plaguing the lives of many who call the city home.
As of Thursday night year-to-date, there've been more than 5,532 reported shots fired calls across the city, according to the city's crime dashboard.
Many of which involved automatic weapons, according to leaders with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives St. Paul division.
"One of the reasons why we're seeing this is because more people are utilizing conversion devices known as auto sears," explained ATF's Ashlee Sherrill.
Auto sears are a small metal tool, clipped to the back of a handgun, turning a semi-automatic gun into a fully automatic weapon.
"More and more we're seeing young juveniles using them. They are finding a tremendous amount — a hundred or more shell casings at the scene," said Sherrill.
Officials say many of these devices are coming from overseas markets, while others are being 3D printed on city streets.
"Under the national Firearms Act, any device that somebody wants to possess, they have to register — and they go to ATF to do that — so when we see criminals in possession of these auto sears, we know that they're automatically illegal and it's a federal offense."
Which is why extra resources at both the state and federal level are needed.
"We have people directly imbedded in with the Minneapolis Police Department, working day-to-day operations with them," explained Sherrill. She went on to say, "We brought additional special agents, some intel research specialists and we also have a NIBIN van at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to assist in evidence processing."
Officials hope that with more help, violent crime scenes will end once and for all.
"It is an uphill battle, but it is definitely one that ATF is willing to fight alongside our law enforcement partners," Sherrill said.
ATF agents say they've made dozens of arrests linked to gun violence this year across the Twin Cities.
Leaders with the agency say there's a community engagement component to ending the gun violence and they're asking anyone who sees these sears being used or manufactured to call police or the ATF at 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477) or you can email ATF at ATFTips@atf.gov.
To submit information anonymously click here.
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