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WEBVTT KCCI'S RHEYA SPIGNER SHOWS USWHAT POLICE THINK IS BEHIND THEINCREASED USE OF GUNS.>> WE HAVE 15 HOMICIDES IN THECITY THIS YEAR.I CAN GUARANTEE YOU WE'VEPROBABLY TAKEN THREE TIMES ASMANY OF GUNS OFF THE STREET THISYEAR.REPORTER: DES MOINES POLICE SAYSINCE 2010 WHEN THE RIGHT TOCARRY LAWS CHARGED IN IOWA, THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE INPEOPLE ARMED, AND AN INCREASE INHIGH PROFILE GUN CRIME.>> THE THING THATS MOSTTROUBLING TO US IS THE NUMBER OFGUNS WE'RE SEEING IN THE HANDSOF YOUNG PEOPLE.PEOPLE WHO ARE IMMATURE, PRONETO SPONTANEOUS BAD DECISIONS.REPORTER: PARIZEK SAYS SPECIALENFORCEMENT THAT USUALLY STARTSAROUND THIS SUMMER.IT DOES NOT INCLUDE PATROL CARSALREADY OUT.>> THEY'RE TOYING WITH APERMANENT SOLUTION TO WHATEVER ATEMPORARY PROBLEM IS.REPORTER: WHERE THESE GUNS ARECOMING FROM ARE A BIGGER PROBLEMTHERE ISN'T JUST ONE SOURCE TOGET THEM AND THE GUN ITSELFISN'T ALWAYS ILLEGAL.>> YOU DON'T HAVE A 15-YEAR-OLDWALK INTO SCHEELS AND BUYING AGUN.WHAT WERE SEEING IS PEOPLE WHOHAVE NO EXPLANATION FOR BUYING AGUN WHY THEY GOT IT, HOW THEYGOT IT.AT SOME POINT THERE IS A LEGALPURCHASE AND THAT GUN FINDS IT'SWAY INTO SOMEONE'S HANDS.REPORTER: ACCESS TO A LEGAL GUNIN A HOME, SOMEONE PURCHASINGAND RESELLING A GUN STEALING A, GUN, OR DIRECTLY PURCHASING ITTHEMSELVES ARE ALL WAYS GUNS ENDUP ON CRIME SCENES.>> WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE FACTTHAT WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OFENGAGED PARENTING.WE NEED TO LOOK AT SOMETIMES WE

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Fifteen homicides in five months -- a catchphrase that has jolted the city of Des Moines, where there were only 13 homicides in all of 2016 -- is being attributed to a rise in youths grasping hold of deadly weapons, as well as “behavior control problems.” Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek said there has been an increase in high-profile gun crime since right-to-carry laws changed in 2010, when then-Gov. Chet Culver signed legislation that made Iowa a “shall issue” state regarding county sheriffs issuing permits to carry a concealed weapon. The most troubling part for authorities, however, is that guns are falling into the hands of young people who are “immature” and “prone to spontaneous bad decisions,” Parizek said. The stark comment comes after a violent shooting early Sunday in 19-year-old Ruot Gach, of Carroll, was shot to death in the Zion Lutheran Church parking lot at 3405 Woodland Ave. Community leaders met this week to come up with strategies that will create a discord between youths and violence in the city, a meeting that was planned before Gach's death. “Ironic that we had the latest shooting on our property, but we’re not shaken or moved in our mission,” Zion Lutheran Church Pastor Alfonso Perez said. “If we focus on the evil, we lose sight of what this great city is all about.” Perez said a group of city leaders will continue to meet as they work to create youth violence programs and create more discussion in the community. Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert said each death investigation is “tragic, sad and pointless,” adding that the type of violence plaguing the metro is different than in years’ past. It’s no longer gangs but conflicting groups of children willing to pull a trigger without thinking about the consequences, he said. Special law enforcement usually starts around the summers, when officials confiscate an average of 50 guns a year. And that doesn’t include patrol cars out already. Parizek said police aren’t sure where the weapons are coming from, why they’re being purchased or how they’re being acquired. Typically, he said, criminals are accessing guns from a home, purchasing and reselling or stealing, but at some point, a legal purchase was made -- it just falls into the wrong hands. Police also said engaged parenting is lacking and that neighbors are oftentimes unacquainted with one another. “It’s not a gun control problem; it’s a behavior control problem,” Parizek said. Authorities are looking into thousands of gun cases from 2010 up until now to classify how many crimes were committed with legally purchased guns. KCCI's Rheya Spigner contributed to this report.