Tagged: guns

A St. Louis County lawmaker plans to file legislation that would require background checks on anyone who buys a firearm at a gun show.

State Representative Stacey Newman (D, Richmond Heights) says her proposal would close the so-called “gun show loophole” in Missouri.

“Right now, federal background checks are only done through licensed dealers," Newman said.  "That exempts gun shows where people can purchase unlimited amounts of weapons, including assault weapons.”

Updated 1:56 p.m. Dec. 20 with information about background  checks in Illinois

It’s perhaps counter intuitive, but when acts of violence shake the nation, sales of guns go up. The same is happening with the sales of semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines.

Under normal circumstances you might be confuse the rush of customers at Mid America Arms in South St. Louis, as Christmas shoppers, but not so this year.

“It’s been one of our best days in 13 years but…not for the right reasons,” says owner Mark Campbell.

St. Louis police chief Dan Isom says aggressive policing efforts are continuing to bring down the rate of aggravated assaults and other gun crimes in the city.

Isom's analysis came during his monthly report on crime numbers to the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners. Overall, crime in the city is down 12.7 percent from last year.

St. Louis police say they're seeing a significant uptick in gun violence in St. Louis, even as crime is down overall.

The department released the latest crime numbers for 2012 at the meeting of its oversight board on Wednesday morning. Aggravated assaults with a weapon are up 19 percent in 2012 compared to the same period in 2011.

Special groups like the Violent Offenders and gang units are targeting individuals with a history of gun violence and possession, police chief Dan Isom said, but that won't solve the entire problem.