49 Boston illegal firearm arraignments in August, 58 guns seized

BOSTON, September 22, 2024 – District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office handled 49 Boston gun arrest arraignments in August, resulting in 58 illegal firearms being taken off the streets and 21 defendants being held pre-trial for at least 120 days after being declared dangerous by a judge. Other defendants were ordered held on various bail amounts or had their bail revoked if they had existing open cases.

Some arrests involved the seizure of multiple guns.

The August snapshot of gun arraignments prompted Hayden to reiterate his charge that states like Massachusetts, with stricter gun-purchase regulations, are target zones for gun traffickers who buy weapons in easy-purchase states like Alabama, Georgia and Florida and transport them for street sale to cities like Boston.

“We know where these guns are coming from. We know that these traffickers are perfectly knowledgeable about where they can easily buy guns and where they can easily sell them, which are markets like Massachusetts where we have strict, sensible gun purchase regulations.  This perilous stream of trafficked weapons is a direct result of our patchwork national approach to firearm sales,” Hayden said.

Boston police made 306 firearm arrests from January to August and seized 382 guns.  

Hayden said police and prosecutors employ a comprehensive approach to illegal gun enforcement, including:

·         Strict enforcement of Massachusetts gun laws

·         Familiarity with repeat offenders

·         Knowledge of how individuals conceal weapons on their bodies and in cars

·         Targeted investigations of those known to be causing firearm violence

·         Swift apprehension of violent offenders with warrants

·         Use of dangerousness hearings to hold individuals deemed a threat to the community

·         Prioritizing investigation of non-fatal shootings. Every non-fatal shooting in Suffolk County is assigned to a prosecutor who partners with district detectives to investigate.

Hayden said the wide-ranging enforcement approach combined with neighborhood outreach by Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration and the involvement of social service groups, neighborhood organizations and clergy have contributed to the drop in shooting victims in Boston to 95 through August of 2024, compared to 111 for the same period in 2023. Shooting incidents dropped by 11 percent over the same year-to-year period.

The number of Boston shooting victims and homicides have steadily decreased since 2020. That year there were 275 shooting victims and 44 homicides.  In 2021 there were 196 victims and 25 homicides; in 2022 there were 180 victims and 32 homicides, and in 2023 there were 142 victims and 26 homicides. There were 12 homicides in Boston through August.

“Any positive trends we see from the many different elements at work on reducing gun offenses—and crime in general—motivates all the organizations and individuals involved to work even harder. But I think it’s important for the public to be aware of what police and prosecutors are experiencing every day when it comes to the volume of illegal guns, and the August numbers paint that picture pretty clearly,” Hayden said.

Data collected by Hayden’s office and federal authorities show that most illegal guns seized in Boston come from Maine, New Hampshire, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Guns have also been traced to Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Ohio.

The data show that of the 441 traceable guns seized in Boston in 2021, 271, or 61 percent, originated in those nine states; 67, or 15 percent, originated in other states; and 103, or 23 percent, originated in Massachusetts.

All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.

James Borghesani, Chief of Communications