Firearms Trace Data: Minnesota - 2021

Data Source: Firearms Tracing System

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021

 

Contents

  1. ATF Firearms Trace Data Disclaimer
  2. Table: Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced in Minnesota in Calendar Year 2021
  3. Table: Firearm Types with a Minnesota Recovery
  4. Table: Top Calibers Reported on Firearm Traces with a Minnesota Recovery
  5. Table: Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a Minnesota Recovery
  6. Table: Top 15 Source States for Firearms with a Minnesota Recovery
  7. Table: Time-To-Crime Rates for Firearms with a Minnesota Recovery
  8. Table: Age of Possessors for Firearms with a Minnesota Recovery
  9. Table: Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with a Minnesota Recovery
  10. Analytical Criteria Used to Compile the Enclosed Statistics

 

ATF Firearms Trace Data Disclaimer

Firearm traces are designed to assist law enforcement authorities in conducting investigations by tracking the sale and possession of specific firearms. Law enforcement agencies may request firearms traces for any investigative reason, and those reasons are not necessarily reported to the federal government. Not all firearms used in crime are traced and not all firearms traced are used in crime.

Firearms selected for tracing are not chosen for purposes of determining which types, makes or models of firearms are used for illicit purposes. The firearms selected do not constitute a random sample and should not be considered representative of the larger universe of all firearms used by criminals, or any subset of that universe. Firearms are normally traced to the first retail seller, and sources reported for firearms traced do not necessarily represent the sources or methods by which firearms in general are acquired for use in crime.

 

Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced in Minnesota in Calendar Year 2021

4,605

 

Firearm Types with a Minnesota Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Pistols 3,417
Rifles 455
Shotguns 365
Revolvers 337
Machineguns 11
Derringers 8
Other* 12

* Other includes Unknown Types, Receivers/Frames and Silencers.

 

Top Calibers Reported on Firearm Traces with a Minnesota Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
9mm 2,159
.40 Cal 404
.22 Cal 388
.45 Cal 286
12GA 286
.380 Cal 268
.38 Cal 121
.357 Cal 96
5.56mm 80
7.62mm 55

NOTE:  There were 426 additional traces that were associated with other calibers.​ There were 36 traces with an unknown caliber.

 

Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a Minnesota Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Possession of Weapon 1,179
Firearm Under Investigation 912
Found Firearm 408
Dangerous Drugs 396
Aggravated Assault 266
Weapon Offense 254
Family Offense 156
Homicide 142
Suicide 120
Traffic Offense 115

NOTE:  There were 657 additional traces that were associated with other categories.

 

Top 15 Source States for Firearms with a Minnesota Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Minnesota 2,704
Wisconsin 205
Florida 117
North Dakota 74
Texas 71
Indiana 64
Iowa 62
South Dakota 39
Mississippi 38
Ohio 37
Illinois 36
Arizona 35
Georgia 34
Missouri 32
Colorado 25
Tennessee 25

NOTE:  An additional 31 states and Puerto Rico accounted for 264 other traces. The source state was identified in 3,862 total traces.

 

Time-To-Crime Rates for Firearms with a Minnesota Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Under 3 Months 415
3 Months to Under 7 Months 428
7 Months to Under 1 Year 388
1 Year to Under 2 Years 494
2 Years to Under 3 Years 230
3 Years and Over 1,804

1/1/2021-12/31/2021 Minnesota Average Time-to-Crime: 6.27 Years

1/1/2021-12/31/2021 National Average Time-to-Crime: 6.24 Years

 

Age of Possessors for Firearms with a Minnesota Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
17 and Under 118
18 to 21 355
22 to 24 339
25 to 30 632
31 to 40 809
41 to 50 326
Over 50 258

1/1/2021-12/31/2021 Minnesota Average Age of Possessor: 33 Years

1/1/2021-12/31/2021 National Average Age of Possessor: 34 Years

 

Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with a Minnesota Recovery

January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Minneapolis 1,183
Saint Paul 702
Brooklyn Park 177
Brooklyn Center 118
Fergus Falls 102
Bloomington 71
Duluth 70
Rochester 68
Blaine 59
Maple Grove 51

NOTE: There were 326 additional municipalities that accounted for 1,997 other traces. The recovery city could not be determined for seven traces.

 

Analytical Criteria Used to Compile the Enclosed Statistics

Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced

  • Includes traces with a recovery state of Minnesota. Traces in which the recovery state was not provided were included when the requesting agency state was equal to Minnesota.
  • Includes Firearms Recovered and Traced between 1/1/2021 – 12/31/2021 or, if the recovery date was blank, firearms with trace entry dates between 1/1/2021 – 12/31/2021.
  • Duplicate traces, Firearms Not Recovered, Gun Buyback and Firearms Turned In are not included in this figure.​
  • Data was extracted from the Firearms Tracing System (FTS) on April 18, 2022.​
  • All traces may not have been submitted or completed at the time of this study.​

Firearm Types and Calibers with a Minnesota Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.

Top Categories Reported on Firearm Traces with a Minnesota Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.

Top Source States for Firearms with a Minnesota Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.
  • Traces must identify a purchaser and the state in which the final dealer is located.

Time-to-Crime Rates for Firearms with a Minnesota Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.
  • Traces must identify a purchaser.
  • Time-to-Crime was calculated for those traces in which the purchase date could be subtracted ​from the recovery date.

Age of Possessors for Firearms with a Minnesota Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.
  • Includes traces that provide a possessor and the possessor’s date of birth.
  • Possessor’s age is calculated by subtracting the possessor’s date of birth from the recovery date.

Top Recovery Cities for Firearms with a Minnesota Recovery

  • Includes same criteria as Total Number of Firearms Recovered and Traced.
  • Includes traces with a recovery city or, if the recovery city was not provided, traces requested by agencies with jurisdiction only within that city.

 

View All 2021 Firearms Trace Data

Last Reviewed September 15, 2022