Investigation

Missing Pieces

The Trace, in partnership with more than a dozen local NBC TV stations, spent over a year reporting on the relationship between stolen guns and violent crime. Reporters obtained records from in excess of 1,000 police departments and law enforcement agencies across the U.S. and connected thousands of weapons to crime scenes.

Longform

Missing Pieces

Gun theft from legal owners is on the rise, quietly fueling violent crime across America.

Brian Freskos

From Our Partners

NBC10 Philadelphia

Why doesn't PA require reporting of stolen guns?
NBC Bay Area

Laws stymie efforts to trace guns used in crimes
9News Denver

Missing pieces: Lost and stolen guns used in thousands of crimes
NBC 7 San Diego

In San Diego, Nearly 200 Stolen Guns Recovered in Connection With Crimes
NBC Miami

More firearms stolen in South Florida
11Alive

Gun thefts on the rise, fueling violent crime in ATL and across America
Wichita Eagle

Stolen guns found during investigation of hundreds of Wichita crimes, data shows
NBC Kansas City

Stolen guns turning up at other crimes

Full Coverage

Lead Reporters

Brian Freskos
twitter email

Brian Freskos is a senior researcher and data analyst for the Conflict Awareness Project. He was previously a Chicago-based staff writer for The Trace, where he covered gun trafficking and community-based violence prevention.

Spurred by The Trace’s Reporting, Atlanta Stiffens Punishment for Cops Who Leave Their Guns Unattended

Data

Spurred by The Trace’s Reporting, Atlanta Stiffens Punishment for Cops Who Leave Their Guns Unattended

After being contacted by The Trace’s reporters, the Atlanta Police Department clamped down on officers whose behavior contributed to the loss or theft of a department-issued firearm. Under a new policy adopted this month, officers who violate the department’s rules…

Brian Freskos
Law Enforcement’s Lost and Stolen Gun Problem

Data

Law Enforcement’s Lost and Stolen Gun Problem

An investigation by The Trace shows that police departments’ uneven storage rules have put deadly weapons into the hands of criminals.

Brian Freskos and Marsha McLeod
Record Gun Theft Poses Threat to Progress Against Violence in Chicago

Missing Pieces

Record Gun Theft Poses Threat to Progress Against Violence in Chicago

An analysis of lost and stolen firearms ties thousands of weapons to crimes committed on the city’s streets.

Brian Freskos
In Texas, The Trace’s Gun Theft Investigation Spurs Proposals to Track Stolen Firearms

Gun Policy

In Texas, The Trace’s Gun Theft Investigation Spurs Proposals to Track Stolen Firearms

A Houston gun violence commission assembled after the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School cited a joint investigation by The Trace and NBC in calling for legislation requiring gun owners to report lost and stolen firearms to authorities.

Brian Freskos
The Trace’s Collaborative Investigation of Stolen Guns Wins Reporting Prize

Announcements

The Trace’s Collaborative Investigation of Stolen Guns Wins Reporting Prize

The Trace’s yearlong investigation into the violent consequences of rising gun theft has earned a reporting award from the Deadline Club. “The Trace’s topnotch technique paired sophisticated data analysis with dogged shoe-leather reporting to circumvent governmental opacity and link…

Team Trace
Citing The Trace’s Reporting, Top Gun Violence Scholar Calls For More Research on Threat of Stolen Firearms

Missing Pieces

Citing The Trace’s Reporting, Top Gun Violence Scholar Calls For More Research on Threat of Stolen Firearms

For the issue of gun violence, few questions are more fundamental than how firearms go from the lawful market to the hands of a shooter who uses them to kill or maim. Spurred by recent reporting, a prominent scholar is…

Brian Freskos
The Trace’s Stolen Guns Investigation Selected as Deadline Club Awards Finalist

Missing Pieces

The Trace’s Stolen Guns Investigation Selected as Deadline Club Awards Finalist

Missing Pieces, The Trace’s yearlong investigation into the violent consequences of America’s gun theft epidemic, is a Deadline Club Awards finalist in the category of Reporting by Independent Digital Media. Read Next…

Daniel Nass
A Man Went on a Deadly Rampage With a Stolen Gun at an Oregon Mall. His Victims’ Families Are Now Pushing for a Safe-Storage Law.

Missing Pieces

A Man Went on a Deadly Rampage With a Stolen Gun at an Oregon Mall. His Victims’ Families Are Now Pushing for a Safe-Storage Law.

A proposed ballot initiative in the Beaver State would require gun owners to lock up their weapons — and be liable if their unsecured firearms are stolen and used to harm others.

Brian Freskos
Guns Stolen From UPS and Other Shipping Companies Are Turning Up at Crime Scenes

Missing Pieces

Guns Stolen From UPS and Other Shipping Companies Are Turning Up at Crime Scenes

Sometimes before authorities know they’re missing.

Brian Freskos
Tennessee News Station Uses The Trace’s Data to Link More Than 100 Stolen Guns to Crimes

Ask The Trace

Tennessee News Station Uses The Trace’s Data to Link More Than 100 Stolen Guns to Crimes

A television news station in Johnson City, Tennessee, used data collected by The Trace and NBC to link 105 guns stolen in the northeastern part of the state to crimes committed across the United States, including kidnapping and murder.

Brian Freskos

Missing Pieces

Missing Pieces

From Our Partners

NBC10 Philadelphia

NBC Bay Area

9News Denver

NBC 7 San Diego

NBC Miami

11Alive

Wichita Eagle

NBC Kansas City

Full Coverage

Lead Reporters

Brian Freskos

Spurred by The Trace’s Reporting, Atlanta Stiffens Punishment for Cops Who Leave Their Guns Unattended

Law Enforcement’s Lost and Stolen Gun Problem

Record Gun Theft Poses Threat to Progress Against Violence in Chicago

In Texas, The Trace’s Gun Theft Investigation Spurs Proposals to Track Stolen Firearms

The Trace’s Collaborative Investigation of Stolen Guns Wins Reporting Prize

Citing The Trace’s Reporting, Top Gun Violence Scholar Calls For More Research on Threat of Stolen Firearms

The Trace’s Stolen Guns Investigation Selected as Deadline Club Awards Finalist

A Man Went on a Deadly Rampage With a Stolen Gun at an Oregon Mall. His Victims’ Families Are Now Pushing for a Safe-Storage Law.

Guns Stolen From UPS and Other Shipping Companies Are Turning Up at Crime Scenes

Tennessee News Station Uses The Trace’s Data to Link More Than 100 Stolen Guns to Crimes