WOOD COUNTY, Ohio — The Ohio State Highway Patrol is taking a record number of guns off the streets across Northwest Ohio.
They say more firearms were recovered in traffic stops in 2020 than in 2019.
The agency released dash-cam video of various traffic stops in northwest Ohio counties from 2020.
The video from OSHP District 1 and OSHP District 2 included impaired driving and drug stops. The stops all had one thing in common: the drivers were illegally carrying a firearm.
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According to OSHP, there were 301 recovered firearms in northwest Ohio in 2020, a 44% increase from 2019. That's 17% of the total number of recovered firearms in the state which is 1,746.
Top 3 Counties in OSHP D1 - Recovered Firearms
- 2019: Wood (27), Allen (21), and Lucas (19)
- 2020: Wood (50), Paulding (27), and Hancock (23)
- 2021 YTD: Hancock (5), Allen (4), and Defiance/Lucas/Putnam/Wood (2 each)
Top 3 Counties in OSHP D2 - Recovered Firearms
- 2019: Richland (41), Erie (24), and Marion (10)
- 2020: Richland (39), Erie (28), and Sandusky (23)
- 2021 YTD: Richland (7), Erie (6), and Sandusky (3)
All of the other OSHP districts in Ohio experienced an increase in 2020 as well.
"I don't think there's a real reason we can attribute it to," said Sgt. Ryan Purpura, a spokesperson with OSHP District 1 and 2. "In our area, in Wood County, we can attribute it to the fact that we have two major interstates, I-75 and the Ohio Turnpike."
Some of these guns were stolen and it's not uncommon, Purpora said, that they recover guns in traffic stops used in serious crimes such as a murder or robbery.
"Although the weapons are increasing in numbers, we're taking them off the street. It's kind of a double edged sword, if you will. We want to take as many guns off the street as we can to ensure the safety of the motoring public as well as the people in our communities," Purpura said.