RICHMOND, Va. -- Operation Safe Summer has officially come to an end - but its conclusion does not mean the work stops.
Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards says despite manpower shortages, special teams of officers will continue to hammer away at the city’s violent hotspots.
During Operation Safe Summer, a woman charged with recklessly shooting a gun outside of a club and a homicide in the Shockoe Bottom area, triggered the Richmond Police Department, Virginia State Police, and the federal authorities to shift their focus to Richmond’s downtown nightlife.
"That is a recipe for disaster when other individuals around have a firearm, people are intoxicated, people are fighting that could've ended in what we saw in Birmingham so I'm very pleased the officers were in the area to prevent it from escalating,” Edwards said.
In Shockoe Bottom alone, between August 9 and September 6, 50 guns were taken off the streets. Those 50 guns are a part of 247 total illegal guns seized since April 19.
Seven cases made in Operation Safe Summer have now been transferred to federal authorities, and many of them include guns they found that had "Glock switches,” which are devices that render the gun automatic.
"The use of crime gun intelligence and traditional investigative techniques including over 50 undercover operations led to 7 defendants being federally indicted for 51 total counts,” ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Darrell Logwood said.
The number of people shot during Operation Safe Summer was 108, down 7 from 2023.
And homicide totals are down, with 45 people murdered in 2024, an 18% decrease.
Chief Edwards says the downward trend is promising, but adds his officers will continue being proactive.
"I've been in court enough with people who shot people. I've sat across the table from people confessing to murders and there are very few evil people in this world,” Edwards said. “They're generally people who make a stupid mistake and if they could go back in time they would.”
Police say they're still having problems with people leaving guns inside cars that are getting stolen.
Chief Edwards says the gun used to shoot an officer in Fairfield Court recently was stolen from a car in Henrico County.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have information to share.
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