‘A game changer;’ State unveils new gun violence initiative

COLUMBUS — Gov. Mike DeWine announced a new gun initiative created to decrease gun violence within Ohio.

DeWine was joined by state, local, and federal leaders for the debut of the Central Ohio Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC).

This center serves to both investigate and eliminate gun violence within Central Ohio using the help of firearm evidence examiners, investigators, and intelligence analysts, according to a media release.

“Across the country, Crime Gun Intelligence Centers — like the one announced today in Columbus — have proven to be uniquely effective tools for solving violent crimes, bringing repeat shooters to justice, and reducing the rate of gun violence,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said.

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The centerpiece of the center area eTrace and the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network.

NIBIN is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive’s network of millions of ballistic images captured from crime scenes across the nation.

ETrace is ATF’s program that can trace guns used in crimes to the retail store they were bought at.

As a result, multiple shootings can be tied together, whether they happened in the same neighborhood or hundreds of miles apart, and shooters can be identified more quickly, the release states.

“Talk about a new, large-scale, long-term collaboration to investigate and prevent gun violence in Columbus and in central Ohio. It’s a partnership that has never been done at this scale before in central Ohio and I truly believe it is a game changer,” DeWine said.

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