ATF director shares his thoughts on the fight against gun violence and why he has hope
DALLAS - Police chiefs from major cities across the country and around the world came to Dallas this weekend.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference and Exposition runs Saturday through Tuesday, and gives leaders a chance to meet, train and learn.
Steven Dettlebach, the newly sworn in director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is one of the event's attendees.
The ATF director says there have been more than 500 mass shootings in the US this year alone.
He sat down with FOX 4's Shaun Rabb to discuss gun violence.
Dettlebach: The reason I'm here in Dallas is because the Major City Chiefs of America are here and the Internaional Association of Chiefs of Police, almost every major law enforcement leader in this continent are right here in Dallas. Those are our partners, and it is core to ATF's mission to work hand-in-hand with state local law enforcement to try and protect people from violence. A totally non-controversial mission, but one that is more important now than it's ever been because of the dangers in our communities.
Rabb: We're experiencing yet another mass shooting in Raleigh, we are still reeling here in Texas from what happened in Uvalde, mass shootings continue to increase.
Dettlebach: We talk about mass shootings, and they're awful. They shock all of us. We feel awful about them, but in addition to these mass shootings, every day in this country 109 people die from firearm violence. It is like a pounding, pounding, relentless loss of life in our country and working with state and local law-enforcement, whether a case is in the headlines or on the news or not we have to go after it. We have to try to get justice for the victims.
Rabb: The Arlington Police Department, locally, just held this news conference talking about partnering with ATF and using ballistics technology, I guess to identify guns through the shell casings that have been used in various crimes. Can you talk about that a little bit?
Dettlebach: It is called the NIBIN program. It allows state and local law enforcement to work with us. It takes the ejected cartridge casings from a crime gun and you're able to match that up to see whether the same gun has been used in other crimes. That can tell you first of all, who are the most serious trigger pullers, and it can also help you to solve these crimes.
Rabb: I moderated yesterday a town hall meeting of teenagers, high school students, and gun violence. This seems to be a new phenomenon: 14, 15, 16-year-olds killing each other.
Dettlebach: I was yesterday also sitting with the chiefs, and heard chief after chief after chief talk about the fact that the offenders, the users of these firearms to kill others, are getting younger and younger. It is a tragic situation when we have to recognize that means we have to be more creative in the way we work together, state, local, federal, to try to address this problem. It also means we have to ask broader questions that go beyond law enforcement about crime prevention and things we can do to try and help give youth choices besides becoming violent at such a young age.
Rabb: If there's a beacon of light, if there's a ray of hope, what is it, Director?
Dettlebach: Look, we're catching people. You know, just here in Dallas, there is a case that happened out in Aledo, Jonathan Ludlow. Here's a guy who was a dirty firearms dealer. This fella sold hundreds of firearms that were used in crimes, and they're still out there. Knowing that they would go to the wrong people, he was held accountable. The police and ATF, caught that person, prosecuted him, he was held accountable. We have to think of creative ways to do even more, because violence is, and has been for several years, getting worse in this country. Firearms violence is leading the way, and we just can't be satisfied that we're doing enough no matter how hard we're trying.