Six law enforcement officers were shot to death in Alabama in 2019, all but one killed with a stolen gun, according to the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which traced each murder weapon.

The tragic year for state law enforcement began with the January slaying of Birmingham Police Sgt. Wytasha Carter.

Carter’s death was followed a week later with the death of Mobile Police Officer Sean Tuder and then the killings of Auburn Police Officer William Buechner in May, Tuscaloosa Police Detective Dornell Cousette in September, Lowndes County Sheriff John “Big John” Williams in November and Huntsville Police Officer Billy Fred Clardy III in December.

Only the gun used to kill Sheriff Williams was not stolen, according to the ATF.

“Alabama has lost six peace officers already in what has been a heartbreaking 2019. Five officers met their end of watch staring down the barrel of a gun held by someone prohibited by Alabama and federal law from possessing the firearm in the first place,’’ said Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Jay Town.

“Crime guns are all too common in Alabama which is why, from the moment I was sworn, I have prioritized prosecutions of felons and drug dealers with guns and we will continue to execute that priority aggressively.”

These are the five officers the ATF says were killed with stolen guns:

Birmingham Police Sgt. Wytasha Carter, 44, was killed outside a downtown Birmingham nightclub on Jan. 13 while investigating a string of car break-ins. Jeremy Elwin Owens is charged with capital murder, attempted murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm, receiving stolen property and possession of marijuana. Owens was charged for having a stolen gun – A Glock 22 – in January. A trial date has not yet been set.

Mobile Police Officer Sean Tuder, 30, was shot to death when he tried to arrest a suspect on Jan. 20. Tuder, undercover and in an unmarked vehicle at the time of the Sunday incident, was immediately attacked as he pulled in to the parking lot of the Peach Tree Inn in West Mobile. He and suspect Marco Perez, then 19, scuffled before Perez allegedly pulled a weapon on Tuder and shot him. Perez, now 20, is accused of stealing the murder weapon from an unlocked vehicle a few days before the deadly shooting.

Auburn Police Officer William Buechner, 37, was killed on May 19. Buechner and multiple officers – including Officers Webb Sistrunk and Evan Elliott -- responded to a domestic disturbance at a mobile home park in the 3000 block of Wire Road. According to court documents, Grady Wayne Wilkes, 29, opened the door, wearing armor, carrying a rifle and immediately opened fire, the records state. The other officers survived but have undergone lengthy recoveries. Wilkes is charged with capital murder, attempted murder, and domestic abuse. The rifle used in the shooting was stolen, but authorities said they could not release additional about the circumstances of the theft.

Tuscaloosa Police Detective Dornell Cousette, 40, was shot as he tried to apprehend a suspect who had felony warrants. The shooting happened just before 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, at a home near Short 17th Street and 33rd Avenue. Cousette had received a tip that Luther Bernard Watkins Jr., who was wanted on multiple warrants, was at the home. When Dornell got there, in full uniform, he told the suspect he was the police and authorities say Watkins, 20, then ran into the home. Cousette followed and, almost immediately, gunfire erupted. Both Dornell and Watkins were injured. Watkins has denied shooting Cousette. Authorities have not released details about the stolen gun used in the case. He has a January 2020 arraignment date.

Huntsville police Officer Billy Fred Clardy III, 48, was killed Dec. 6 during a drug investigation. The drug task force agent was fatally shot about 4 p.m. that Friday near the corner of Oakwood Avenue and Levert Street N.E. during a task force operation. When the suspect arrived at the location, authorities said, he drew a gun and shot Clardy. Officers returned fire at the suspect, LaJeromeny Brown, who was uninjured. Brown, 41, is charged with capital murder. Authorities said the gun used to kill Clardy was traced back to a retailer and the retailer informed ATF agents the purchaser had reported it stolen.

Alabama typically ranks in the top 10 of states with the most stolen guns annually. Earlier this year, state lawmakers made it a felony to be in possession of a stolen weapon. It was previously a misdemeanor if the weapon was worth less than $500.

David Hyche, ATF’s assistant special agent in charge in Alabama, said the agency traced the origins of the guns used in all six officer deaths. Because of the pending legal proceedings, he couldn’t specifically discuss the guns and the circumstances of the thefts in those cases.

The accused shooters in the officers’ deaths were prohibited from legally possessing a gun either because of previous convictions or because of their age. That, however, is far from prohibitive to them getting one illegally.

“Thousands and thousands of guns are reported stolen every year in Alabama, not even counting from the gun stores,’’ Hyche said. “We’ve had as many as 22, or 23, gun stores hit in a year just in Alabama.”

“Guns are absolutely money on the street. Guns are money for dope,’’ he said. “Drug dealers typically will take guns just like money. They’re just liquid assets.”

“You can sell a gun anywhere. Now, you’re not getting nearly retail in Alabama on the street but it doesn’t matter,’’ Hyche said. “You get 30 cents on the dollar and they don’t care. It’s stolen. If you get a $100 for a $400 gun you steal, that’s fine.” Up north guns on the street bring three or four times what they bring here retail.

The ATF in 2018 – the most recent year for which statistics were available – traced 6,512 recovered crime guns in Alabama.

Hyche said many police agencies don’t trace crime guns even though its available free of charge via ATF to any department.

“Some departments wholesale trace all of the guns they recover and they use that data to solve cases,’’ Hyche said. “It’s free and about 18 percent of all guns in Alabama are less than a year old when they are used in a crime in Alabama so knowing who the retail purchaser was is valuable.” Many criminals who want specific firearms get a friend or relative to purchase the firearms for them at a retailer. These straw purchases for knowingly prohibited people are illegal and are being prosecuted in federal court.

Interestingly, he said, a new trend is the number of young people age 23 and under who are arrested with new guns (less than one year from purchase to crime) is higher than any other age bracket.

It appears to be because young criminals like their pictures on social media with their 40 or their .223 pistol – that stolen revolver isn’t good enough for them,’’ he said. “They want their dope and their money and their guns on social media. And it has to be the right gun.” Unfortunately, the right gun is often a handgun that fires a rifle round which will easily penetrate body armor.

“Statistics show that every year for the last four years, the number of new guns used in crime has increased in Alabama. Our numbers are much higher than most other states and I think that’s just because how many guns we sell in this state,’’ he said. “The violent crime rate in Alabama is ridiculous...stolen guns definitely play a big part in that.”

“I don’t have all the answers,’’ Hyche said, “I just know what the problem is.” If you buy or sell a firearm to an individual through private sale please do all you can to see that you are not buying a stolen gun or that you are not selling to a prohibited person. Don’t let your gun be a crime gun.

“In my personal opinion, all transfers of guns should be documented, but a lot of gun owners don’t agree with that,’’ he said. “By the same token, I think law-abiding citizens should be able to own any gun they want, but responsibility by the gun owners needs to be taken.” Citizens should be able to protect themselves and their families but we should also make it as difficult as possible for criminals to get guns and make the punishment severe when they do.

Authorities say countless guns have been stolen from unlocked vehicles around the state. Keeping guns in homes secure and not leaving guns in vehicles would help solve the issue, Hyche said. He also encouraged people to write down make, model and serial numbers of their guns so that if stolen, they can be tracked and they stand a better chance of getting their guns back.

“At least as many stolen guns are not reported as stolen because people don’t have their make, model and serial number,’’ Hyche said. “I always ask people that I know are gun owners, ‘Do you have it written down?’ and more times than not, it’s no. I think it’s a much greater problem than we’re even aware of due to our inability to track these stolen firearms .”

Town said he believes a lack of respect for law enforcement is leading, in part, to the murder of officers. “Those who traffic in the false narrative about law enforcement should not be not excused for their role,’’ he said. “And that includes their lawyers and supporters too.”

“We cannot afford to decelerate our efforts to remove trigger-pullers from our communities, nor can we afford to stop tracking the guns they wield, the enablers providing the firearms, or the criminal enterprises that insist upon a need for them in the first place. And we won’t,’’ Town said.

“We in law enforcement may have lost our brothers. But the public should know that we have not lost our grit. We haven’t lost our fight for justice. And we damn sure haven’t lost our desire to hold those responsible for these murders, which includes those who made these crime guns available to the worst among us.”