What happens to a gun used in a crime?
You might assume police take it and lock it away as evidence, but as KENS 5 found out, that's not always the case.
The shooting death of SAPD Detective Benjamin Marconi is a tragedy that rocked San Antonio last November.
Police say Otis McKane gunned down Marconi after a traffic stop just feet from SAPD headquarters.
KENS 5 requested information about the gun used in the shooting.
According to the City of San Antonio, “The weapon was not recovered. The suspect stated he obtained the weapons from “the streets”.
In the shooting death of Officer Miguel Moreno, investigators recovered the gun they say Andrew Bice used.
In a document sent to KENS 5, a representative said, “The suspect stole the gun from a relative who lives out of state.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, or ATF, tracks the history of weapons linked to crimes.
In 2016, almost 25,000 were recovered and traced in Texas.
More than 7,000 guns were recovered in Houston, and more than 1,400 were traced in San Antonio.
Most of the guns were pistols, followed by rifles.
Out of the guns traced by ATF, 728 were linked to homicides.
As for the missing gun used to take Detective Marconi's life, no one from the San Antonio Police Department would say where it might be or if it will ever be recovered.