'Stash guns' give Staten Island hoodlums quick access to firearms

[SecularMotion]

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- When Damark King shot out the left eye of a toddler in Mariners Harbor last year, he didn't initially have a gun on him -- but he knew where to find one.

That gun, it turned out, was what law enforcement officials here refer to as a "community gun" or a "stash gun" -- one of several firearms stashed away in easy-to-access locations, like a trunk of an abandoned car, or a mailbox, or a garbage can.

"Somebody yelled, 'go get the gat.' And everybody knew where it was," said District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

Authorities believe the NYPD's stop-and-frisk tactics has fueled the "stash gun" trend -- criminals expect to be searched, so they're more likely to hide the guns nearby to avoid being caught with a weapon.

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/09/stash_guns_give_staten_island.html

[msongs]

1. oh those cops, always trying to infringe on gun owners' 2A rights nt

[MercutioATC]

2. This is why we need to ban guns!

I'm sure that this community would turn in their communal gun if somebody passed a law...

[ileus]

3. Wonder if they look like your typical NRA members?

[spin]

4. Honest citizens don't stash firearms in abandoned cars. ...

Criminal gang member do.

What's your point?

[slackmaster]

5. We should get those hoodlums into track bike racing

That way they could share a stash of fixed-gear bikes instead of guns.

[holdencaufield]

6. "Get the gat"?

Has anyone outside of a after-school special even used that word since '95 ?

[gejohnston]

7. this was common among urban gangs

even in the 19th century. It is still a common practice everywhere.

[Eleanors38]

8. Community guns. Gangs gone socialist! Nt