After four separate weekend shootings in Reno and Sparks, killing three people and injuring five others, police chiefs from both cities spoke with media on Thursday to explain what the departments are doing to address gun violence.
“We have a federal partner that works with us on determining nexuses or links between gun crimes,” Reno Police Chief Kathryn Nance said. “We are coming together with a clear purpose to identify, investigate, and prosecute those who use firearms illegally.”
She added that a Crime Gun Information Center implemented in May is better helping officers identify the weapons and criminals behind deadly shootings, and Sparks Chief Chris Crawforth said that regional partnerships, especially with agencies in Las Vegas and Sacramento, have helped officers better track those weapons.
“There are guns moving throughout our community that are crime guns,” he explained. “A crime happens in one city. Someone wants to offload that gun. So they bring it to a different community to give it to a friend, a gang member partner.”
Since implementing the CGIC, Nance said the departments have launched 157 investigations into illegal firearms, Sparks has followed-up on 137 shot-spotter alerts, and both departments have arrested 10 people and seized 14 illegal firearms.
Detectives are also taking deeper dives into crime scenes.
“For us it’s not about taking one incident … making an arrest, washing our hands of it, and walking away,” Nance said. “We have to look at the totality of it. How could we have prevented that? What other individuals were involved in it? What other crimes could this gun have been used in?”
The goal, she said, is to eliminate the fears that keep community members from feeling safe.
“Whether that’s a perceived fear or a real fear doesn’t matter, and it’s important for us to continue to stop that from happening,” Nance said.
Both chiefs encouraged members of the public to call 911 if they hear gunshots. Those who want to leave police an anonymous tip can call Secret Witness at 775-322-4900.
