Zion police get gun violence surge under control in less than 2 weeks

ZION, Ill. - Police in a northern suburb noticed a surge in gun violence and in less than two weeks, they got it under control.

Zion police detectives looked at the most recent information on where shootings were happening. They found two particular groups accounted for almost 50% of the city’s gun violence.

In response, they organized a crime suppression detail, where officers pulled drivers over for minor traffic violations in the area. Drivers who did not have a weapons violation were not ticketed. Officers also explained what they were looking for to drivers.

In a matter of days, police confiscated four hand guns, one machine gun and three stolen vehicles. They also made six felony weapons arrests and one warrant arrest.

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"Removal of the gun is a big deal because it's taken out of circulation… It takes it out of the hands of those that are likely to use it. A lot of people have guns, there's only a select few that are willing to use them and use them regularly," said Lt. Christopher Sweeting with the Zion Police Department.

Zion police said the effort worked. They say they are grateful to the community for providing tips and communicating with them.