CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gun violence and increasing crime rates continue to be an area of concern all over the country.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told WCNC Charlotte they recovered and traced more than 23,000 firearms in North Carolina alone last year.
The federal agency's first director in several years, Steven Dettelbach, visited Charlotte on Wednesday.
"We're seeing increased partnerships, increased tools, but we're also seeing an increased threat," Dettelbach said.
WCNC Charlotte had an up-close look at the vaults at ATF's Charlotte headquarters. They were the guns that were confiscated off the streets of Charlotte.
"When a firearm is stolen from an individual, mall, parking lot, what have you, that gun is not being used to hunt," Dettelbach said. "That gun is going straight there to the community or one over, and that gun is being used to hurt people."
After meeting with different law enforcement agencies from both North Carolina and South Carolina, ATF's director said increasing partnerships with local law enforcement is going to be key to interrupting the shooting cycle.
He explained part of the strategy is to use tools of crime gun intelligence to identify the trigger pullers.
"If we're going to drive down the murder rate, the shooting rate, we're going to take that number, 109 deaths due to gun violence every day, and lower it, we have to start with the people that are most directly responsible," Dettelbach said.
He said the other part of ATF's strategy is dealing with the transfer of guns.
"There's legal commerce in firearms to, illegal commerce where they end up hurting people," he said.
That includes dealing with straw purchases and stolen guns.
"Yes, in the United States, you have the right to bear arms," Dettelbach said. "In this community, you have a responsibility to secure those arms properly."
Gun shop owner Larry Hyatt told WCNC Charlotte security is a top priority for his business, Hyatt Guns. He said the store has been victim to attempted break-ins dozens of times, the latest of which happened Sunday.
"Attempted break-ins have been rampant all over North Carolina -- we've had an average of one attempt every two months," Hyatt said. "Fortunately, they haven't been successful. But I know it's made the glass companies and door frame, companies, and all those real happy because they get a lot of business."
When it comes to gun crimes involving teens, Dettelbach said police chiefs all over the country are reporting the age of the person committing gun-related crimes is getting younger and younger, a law enforcement concern as well as a societal one.
"We need to focus on what is causing young people to do, not just crimes, but these violent, permanent crimes that ruin the lives of others forever," Dettelbach said.
ATF extended an invitation to Mothers of Murdered Offspring.
Lisa Crawford, the group's executive director, the parents have seen what gun violence is doing to their communities and families.
The family members gathered Wednesday afternoon with Dettelbach to have their voices heard.
"That's what this meeting's about, to make sure our victims aren't forgotten," Crawford said. "And they're not just a number."
One of the mothers, Claudia Hemingway, who lost her son to murder in 2019, found it important to be there.
"They're listening," Hemingway said. "Everybody's ready to make a change."
Crawford added, "I think we start with the guns. We start with the parents. We start with teaching the kids how to deal with their emotions."