New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will be teaming up with the NYPD for a major crackdown on illegal firearms.
ATF agents will be directly embedded in the NYPD, according to the mayor. Agents will work together alongside NYPD officers to help stop the flow of illegal guns. In turn, NYPD intelligence detectives in the ATF gun-tracing team will be deputized and designated as federal agents.
The joint task force will be able to cross state jurisdictions to track guns, AMNY reports.
“It’s not a matter of if, but when we’ll come calling,” said John DeVito, special agent in charge of ATF in New York State.
DeVito says all information on guns used in shootings will be pooled together in an effort to disrupt the shooting cycle.