GREENSBORO, N.C. — Greensboro Police wants to put an end to illegal guns. So far, the department got more than 550 guns off the streets this year.
Police said illegal guns play a large part in gun violence and warn that ghost guns are nearly undetectable.
"It's a weapon that does not have a serial number. A lot of times portions of that weapon are manufactured maybe even with a 3-D printer. It can be homemade or purchased in separate pieces to make a firearm, " Lt. John Ludemann said.
He also warns about illegal attachments that can turn regular guns into automatic weapons.
"We are seeing aftermarket parts of weapons referred to as switches or auto sears. Those are pieces that can be added to an existing firearm to make them operate similar to a fully automatic weapon," Lt. Ludemann shared.
Police said these type of weapons are usually traced back to crimes that affect communities.
"These people are walking around afraid, but they can't do nothing about it. Therefore they have to live like hostages inside their communities," City of Greensboro Violence Prevention Coordinator Arthur Durham said, "This is detrimental not just to the family, but we are talking about children that have to go to school, kids who can't come out and play and elders who can't sit out on their front porches. It becomes a systemic type of situation inside of a subset population as well as an entrenched area."
Durham is a part of GSO Peace on Purpose, a group that aims to promote peace in neighborhoods.
Whether it's engaging with the community to prevent gun violence or putting a stop to it up front. One message is the same, gun violence is not wanted.
GPD has a program called Gun Stoppers, it is a partnership with their Crime Stoppers program. It seeks to reduce violent crime and reduce guns in the streets.