Gun thefts from cars surge; police urge owners to secure firearms

The rate of guns being stolen from cars has tripled over the past decade, and in many cases the thieves didn’t have to work very hard to get their hands on another person’s weapon, officials say.

Often, they’re swiping firearms from unlocked vehicles parked just outside gun owners’ homes.

“Such guns are easy pickings, and the thefts are highly preventable,” said Heath Johnson, a crime analyst with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.

The New York-based nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety reported this month that the rate of gun thefts from cars rose from about 21 thefts per 100,000 people in 2013 to 63.1 per 100,000 in 2022.

Analyzing FBI crime data from 337 cities in 44 states, the nonprofit found that, on average, at least one gun is stolen from a car every nine minutes.

While about a quarter of all gun thefts were from cars a decade ago, more than half were in 2022, according to Everytown for Gun Safety’s report.

Cars parked at homes were the most common source of stolen guns, the nonprofit said.

“Guns stolen from cars often go from legal hands to the illegal market, where they are too often used to carry out other crimes, including assaults and homicides,” said Sarah Burd-Sharps, senior director of research at Everytown for Gun Safety.

In February, a 9 mm handgun in a backpack was stolen from an unlocked vehicle in Plum.

It was one of 13 thefts from unlocked vehicles reported Feb. 9 in Plum and Oakmont.

The backpack, along with a passport and checkbook that also were in it, were found down the street, according to a Plum police report. A computer and the gun remain missing.

The victim declined to be interviewed.

Detective Joe Little, spokesman for Plum police, said most of the thefts in the borough are from unlocked vehicles. He could not recall the last time a locked vehicle was broken into.

“Leaving a weapon in an unlocked car allows the whole world access to that weapon,” Little said. “It is not safe for our community, for our children, and we strongly suggest keeping it locked in a safe in their home.”

When guns are stolen in Greensburg, the majority are taken from unlocked cars, police Chief Chuck Irvin said. His department sees very few cases of forced entry.

“Obviously, you would always recommend that people do not leave weapons inside cars. We also recommend that people lock their cars at night when they go inside the house for the evening,” Irvin said.

Southern Armstrong Regional Police Chief Chris Fabec said his department has not seen an increase in the theft of guns from cars, but rather entire vehicles being stolen thanks to people leaving them unlocked — sometimes with the keys inside.

“We don’t live in the era anymore where we can leave our windows down and our door unlocked,” Fabec said. “We need to take those precautions.”

The only Pennsylvania cities included in Everytown’s report were Philadelphia and Scranton. In 2022, Philadelphia reported 580 gun thefts from cars, while Scranton had three.

Pittsburgh’s Department of Public Safety tracks total gun thefts but could not break down where they were stolen from. There were 381 guns reported stolen last year, down from 473 in 2022. As of late last week, 111 guns had been reported stolen this year.

“Responsible gun ownership demands the safe storage of firearms to avert the avoidable theft of firearms from peoples’ homes and particularly their vehicles and prevent their use in later acts of violence,” said Johnson, the crime analyst with Pittsburgh police.

“Gun safes are recommended for storing firearms in one’s home,” he said. “And firearms in vehicles are not considered safe when stored in unlocked glove compartments or in center consoles — particularly when the vehicles themselves are left unlocked and unattended overnight.”

Pittsburgh police continue to offer free gun locks for anyone who asks for one. The department said people with a need to store a gun in a vehicle should use a lock.

“Whether in one’s home or vehicle, it is incumbent upon any gun owner to safely store their firearms, and these gun locks are a simple means of preventing any additional guns from becoming tomorrow’s means of violence,” Johnson said.

Pennsylvania State Police reported investigating 147 thefts of firearms from vehicles in 2022 and 2023, down from 191 in 2021.

“We encourage gun owners to utilize a secure storage device, such as a lockable gun case or a lock box, which is kept out of sight,” spokesman Myles Snyder said. “If you have to leave a firearm in a locked vehicle in a secured box, try not to do so for extended periods of time. If a firearm is stolen, please report it immediately.”

Val Finnell, the Pennsylvania director for the gun rights organization Gun Owners of America, said he has a gun safe in his vehicle, but it’s not something his group believes should be required.

“As soon as you make things mandatory, it’s a setup for failure,” he said.

His group opposes mandatory safe storage laws, which Finnell said can make it more difficult to access a firearm when it’s needed, including in a vehicle.

“It’s up to the individual how they would store their guns in their vehicles and their homes,” he said.

Finnell blamed the increase in gun thefts from cars on the existence of “gun-free zones.” Under federal law, Finnell said, a person with a license to carry a firearm can take one into a school, but it’s illegal under state law.

“If you cannot carry your gun with you when you are out and about, you have no choice than to keep it in your car somewhere,” he said. “Eliminating gun-free zones will lower the rate of guns stolen from cars.”