Gun thefts from vehicles in Nashville have decreased compared to this time last year, according to numbers released by Metro Nashville Police Department on Wednesday. The fall in thefts came after MNPD started an initiative to combat car theft and related crimes.
MNPD said 305 guns have been stolen from Nashville vehicles so far in 2024, according to a Wednesday press release. Numbers from around this time last year recorded 477 gun thefts from vehicles, making for a 36 percent decrease.
However, the percentage of gun thefts that have been from cars so far this year has remained close to the same as the previous year. Seventy percent of all Nashville gun thefts in 2024 have been from vehicles, according to the release. Numbers released by MNPD around this time last year said gun thefts from cars made up 78 percent of total gun thefts.
MNPD has recovered 107 stolen guns and 263 stolen vehicles so far in 2024, according to Wednesday’s release.
Lieutenant Brandon Tennant reportedly told WKRN that MNPD’s special initiative to combat car theft is a renewed focus on that type of crime.
“We’re locating [stolen] cars usually at the scene of or shortly thereafter the scene of some type of violent crime, whether it be homicides, carjackings, other types of shootings, so that’s why we wanted to shift our focus and be able to locate these vehicles prior to ultimately being used to perpetrate some type of violent offense here in our community,” Tennant said.
While gun thefts from vehicles have fallen, car thefts themselves in Nashville rose by 123 percent compared to the same time in 2023, WKRN reported at the beginning of February.
During a media roundtable in May, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said MNPD has seen improvement in gun thefts from cars since the department implemented its car theft initiative, though overall car thefts and reported rapes have increased.
HAPPENING NOW: Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell holds media roundtable. https://t.co/2fTrRJZsXo
— FoxNashville (@FOXNashville) May 17, 2024
MNPD has repeatedly warned that stealing from cars is often associated with car theft and that many vehicles are prime targets because car owners are leaving their keys inside unlocked vehicles. Not only that, but those stolen cars can be then used to commit other crimes.
The Tennessee Star reported in February that gun thefts from vehicles in Nashville were trending downward in 2024 and that total gun thefts from cars in 2023 slightly decreased from the previous year.
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Matthew Giffin is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Matthew on X/Twitter.
