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(CNSNews.com) - A report published on Jan. 9 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) found that in 2016, criminals who carried firearms while they committed crimes most frequently obtained the guns either off the street or underground, rather than through legal purchases.



The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported that an estimated 287,400 prisoners possessed a gun in 2016 while they committed the crimes for which they were imprisoned. Of these, “more than half (56%) had either stolen it (6%), found it at the scene of the crime (7%), or obtained it off the street or from the underground market (43%). Most of the remainder (25%) had obtained it from a family member or friend, or as a gift.”



By contrast, according to BJS, only seven percent of guns carried during crimes in 2016 were purchased by the criminal “under their own name from a licensed firearm dealer,” revealing that the vast majority of criminals who possess guns apparently do not obtain them legally.



In addition, only 1.3% of prisoners who used a gun while committing their offense obtained it through a retail source, such as a gun shop or store, pawn shop, flea market or gun show.