DC’s streets are flooded with illegal firearms. Officials are suing three gun shops they say are a big part of the problem

Attorneys general in Washington, DC, and Maryland are suing three firearms dealers in Maryland, accusing the stores of knowingly selling dozens of guns to straw purchasers who illegally re-sold the weapons to criminals in DC and its surrounding Maryland suburbs.

Attorneys general in Washington, DC, and Maryland are suing three firearms dealers in Maryland, accusing the stores of knowingly selling dozens of guns to straw purchasers who illegally re-sold the weapons to criminals in DC and its surrounding Maryland suburbs. In one case, the three stores located in Montgomery County — Engage Armament, United Gun Shop and Atlantic Guns — sold 34 guns in a six-month period to a Maryland resident named Demetrius Minor who then transferred the firearms to a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history, according to the lawsuit. Minor was convicted for the purchases, the lawsuit says. Nine of those guns have been recovered at crime scenes in the DC area. The rest, officials say, are most likely still on the street. “There was no plausible lawful explanation for Mr. Minor’s excessive handgun purchases over such a short period,” the civil lawsuit reads. “He was obviously engaged in illegal straw purchasing—but the Defendants did not care. They kept taking his money and selling him more guns, putting the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area at risk.” In 2023, violent crime exploded in DC, surging 40%. Since then, the numbers have declined but are still hovering above pre-pandemic levels. Gun recoveries in DC have more than doubled over the past decade and are hitting record highs, and 95% of those illegal firearms come from outside the District, according to DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb.