Since 2024, 38 guns stolen from Baltimore vehicles later tied to other crimes

BALTIMORE — Baltimore Police received reports of 106 firearms stolen from vehicles through Oct. 14 — approaching the total for all of last year — and Police Commissioner Richard Worley wants state lawmakers to hold accountable owners who fail to secure their guns.

Some stolen guns are turning up again in criminal investigations. Police say 38 firearms reported stolen from vehicles since 2024 were later seized in connection with other crimes, though the department did not identify those crimes or say whether the weapons were used to commit them.

The thefts have exposed a divide over how to keep legally owned firearms from falling into criminal hands. Police want stronger storage requirements, while gun rights advocates say Maryland’s restrictions on where people may carry firearms push owners to leave them in cars. Other experts question whether additional laws would change owners’ behavior.

Mark Pennak, president of the gun rights group Maryland Shall Issue, acknowledged that guns are being stolen from vehicles, but said more laws aren’t what’s needed.

“Of course it’s a problem, but it’s a problem that the General Assembly has created,” he said, referring to wear and carry restrictions.

The Baltimore Police Department recorded 113 reports of firearms stolen from vehicles in 2025, compared with 124 in 2024, 115 in 2023 and 76 in 2022. The 38 stolen guns recovered in connection with other crimes were matched to theft reports through their serial numbers, according to department spokesperson Lindsey Eldridge.

“Guns that are stolen typically make their way into the criminal element because they’re now not being sold by a licensed dealer,” said Kathleen Hoke, a University of Maryland Carey School of Law professor and director of the school’s Legal Resource Center for Public Health Policy. “They’re being sold on the street.”

What stronger storage rules could require

Maryland prohibits leaving loaded firearms where a gun owner knew or should have known an unsupervised minor could access them. But the state does not have a general requirement that guns be securely stored when they are not being carried or directly controlled by their owners.

Nor does Maryland have a broad vehicle-specific safe storage law comparable to those enacted in some other states. California, for example, requires handguns left in unattended vehicles to be secured in a trunk or an approved locked container, with requirements governing visibility.

Maryland lawmakers considered expanding firearm storage requirements this year. House Bill 1608, sponsored by Del. J. Sandy Bartlett, would have required firearms to be kept in secure storage under specified circumstances. The proposal received a committee hearing in March but did not advance.

Speaking at a City Council Public Safety Committee meeting last month, Police Commissioner Worley said those who leave firearms in their vehicles need “to be punished for the lack of awareness.”

When contacted this month, Eldridge said the police department “supports efforts to strengthen safe firearm storage requirements and establish meaningful accountability for individuals who fail to properly secure their firearms” and has discussed the issue with community organizations, neighboring jurisdictions, the State’s Attorney’s Office and state legislators.

The Baltimore Sun contacted state lawmakers representing Baltimore, but none responded.

Emily Walsh, a law and policy adviser for the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, said laws specifically addressing firearms left in vehicles offer one of the strongest opportunities to reduce thefts.

But Hoke questioned whether additional laws would necessarily change gun owners’ behavior.

“Until a gun gets stolen, you don’t know that the person wasn’t properly storing it,” she said.

Hoke said some gun owners leave firearms in vehicles to keep them away from children inside their homes. Better education, tax incentives and subsidies for secure storage products could encourage owners to keep firearms safely inside instead, she said.

A national problem

The problem extends far beyond Baltimore.

Between 2013 and 2022, the rate of guns stolen from vehicles tripled in a sample of U.S. cities reporting crime data to the FBI, according to a 2024 analysis by Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun-control advocacy group. The report estimated that at least one gun was stolen from a vehicle every nine minutes nationwide in 2022.

Education and enforcement

Chuck Spafford, who owns Tyler Firearms in Halethorpe, said he supports responsible firearm storage but worries additional requirements could penalize law-abiding gun owners without addressing theft and misuse of stolen guns.

“I believe education, personal responsibility, and enforcement of existing laws are generally more effective approaches, Spafford said in an email.

In July, the Enoch Pratt Free Library and Johns Hopkins University launched a program offering free gun locks to residents 18 and older.

The university did not respond to questions about how many locks have been distributed or whether the program has been successful. A library spokesperson referred those questions to the university.

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