Prosecutors say the February killing of Da’Quain Johnson was justified. But his death, recorded on multiple video streams, underscores tensions that still characterize Midwestern policing in the post-George Floyd era.

Guns to Gardens has been turning unwanted firearms into garden tools and art for over a decade. Since 2013, this faith-based safe disposal movement has destroyed and repurposed an estimated 13,000-plus guns across the country.

On May 21, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that it would not hear an appeal from Gary, whose lawyers had argued that a state law aimed at ending the lawsuit was unconstitutional. The ruling means the city’s case is effectively over, with no opportunity for appeal.

A Los Angeles County elected official called for a probe into Turner’s Outdoorsman, California’s largest gun retailer, citing Trace reporting that showed an outsize number of crime guns linked to the chain.

A national program produces plays about gun violence written by teenagers. It's just one example of how people are using theater to bring new light to the issue.

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled that Gary’s historic gun lawsuit must be dismissed. The decision comes after the state legislature retroactively barred city governments from suing firearms manufacturers. thetr.ac/E9xbo

Skill games have been the driver of armed robberies and shootings in Pennsylvania, critics say. The games test players’ memory, reflexes, and strategy for a cash reward, with scant security precautions. Efforts to bring the games under stricter oversight are now playing out on two fronts.

Guns to Gardens is a nationwide network with hundreds of volunteers — including blacksmiths, woodworkers, and artists — who turn unwanted guns into garden tools and art.

Guns to Gardens has repurposed more than 13,000 firearms. For some gun owners, these church-hosted safe disposal events offer an opportunity for healing.

Skill games look like slot machines. But unlike casino games, they test a player’s memory, reflexes, strategy, and recognition. In Pennsylvania, skill games are everywhere, but aren’t regulated. Critics say the games have been magnets for crime.

USPS is set to lift a century-old ban — and experts warn the consequences could be significant.

Losing one child to gunfire can be shattering. Sometimes it's just the start.

We gathered data on murder-suicides and family annihilations in the U.S. from 2014 to the present. Most of these incidents involve domestic violence, and nearly all of them are perpetrated with guns. Dig into the data:

Five members of the Black Lions Party, a Philadelphia group influenced by the Black Panthers of the ’60s, received letters in February stripping them of their licenses to carry firearms. The letter references a January encounter that the group had with a police officer in North Philly:thetr.ac/gLa3f

After a tumultuous 26-year journey through Indiana’s court system, the city of Gary’s historic lawsuit against the country’s largest gun manufacturers has come to an anticlimactic close.

Republican lawmakers are seeking to punish anybody who enforces an extreme risk protection order.

Philadelphia says it pulled the licenses of Black Lions because of their “character and reputation.” The group argues it’s retaliation for policing the police.

"It took forever just to get people to admit that the decline — which is so obvious and so clear in the data — was actually a real thing. Now getting them to accept that we don’t know why, and to figure out what those answers could be, is a real challenge."

More than a quarter-century after it began, the city of Gary’s historic legal battle against gun manufacturers is over. On May 21, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that it would not hear an appeal from Gary, which had argued that a state law aimed at ending the lawsuit was unconstitutional.

Since his return to office last year, President Donald Trump has pardoned dozens of white-collar criminals. He’s also forgiven their fines, penalties, and restitution, to the tune of billions. Some of that revenue was supposed to go to a fund to help victims of violent crime.

Last year, there were nearly 700 murder-suicides and family annihilations in the United States — nearly two per day, on average. Our latest dataset, sourced from the Gun Violence Archive:

A Los Angeles County elected official called for a probe into Turner’s Outdoorsman, California’s largest gun retailer, citing Trace reporting that showed an outsize number of crime guns linked to the chain.

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled that Gary’s historic lawsuit must be dismissed. The decision comes after the state legislature retroactively barred city governments from suing gun manufacturers.

Pennsylvania’s legislative primaries were this week, and there was an interesting dynamic in this election cycle. It centered on a hot-button, bipartisan issue in the state: “skill gaming.”

In a March 13 lawsuit, Philadelphia accused Glock of promoting the use of illegal “switches” in demonstration videos and promotions on social media. The suit cites The Trace’s reporting at least six times.

Store clerks in Pennsylvania are being robbed and shot while handling payouts for unregulated "skill games" — machines that look like slot machines but operate without the security standards required of casinos. Our new investigation:

The Black Lions Party, a group whose members patrol in Philadelphia, says its mission is to protect the public from criminals, the police, and federal immigration agents. Now, the group is facing a battle against the city over their right to carry their firearms. Read more: thetr.ac/gLa3f

Store clerks in Pennsylvania have been robbed and shot while handling payouts for “skill games,” which are not subject to the security standards required of gambling operations.

“What The Trace has uncovered in this data is shocking and demands investigation,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said. Hahn has called for an investigation into Turner’s Outdoorsman. Trace reporting showed that a vast number of crime guns have been traced to the chain: thetr.ac/oniAx

SIG Sauer’s P320 has prompted scores of lawsuits for alleged safety issues. Insiders say a push to make more guns led to shoddy manufacturing.

"What The Trace has uncovered in this data is shocking and demands investigation,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn.

Philadelphia says it pulled the licenses of Black Lions because of their “character and reputation.” The group argues it’s retaliation for policing the police.

Prosecutors allege that Colin Gray is criminally responsible for providing his son with the gun used in a 2024 school shooting in Georgia. Cases like Gray’s have become more common — but experts say there’s not much evidence they’re an effective deterrent.

Most states do not consider first responder suicides to be line-of-duty deaths. Emily Chau Gray is trying to change that. Her husband, a Pennsylvania state trooper, died by suicide in 2024. Her efforts led to the introduction of bills bearing her husband’s name.

The May 18 shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego was at least the 24th high-profile shooting at a house of worship in the U.S. over the past two decades, according to an analysis by @thetrace.org. Collectively, the shootings left at least 95 dead and 103 wounded, not including the shooters.

The May 18 attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego is one of many similar shootings over the past 20 years, according to an analysis by The Trace.

A Minnesota county prosecutor charged an ICE agent with counts of assault in the nonfatal shooting of a man during an immigration enforcement operation in north Minneapolis. At least 13 people have been injured in gun incidents connected to Trump’s deployment of immigration agents. thetr.ac/zVTw8

Law enforcement responded to an active-shooter situation at the Islamic Center of San Diego this afternoon. At least one member of the mosque was killed, per the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Police said the threat was “neutralized.”

A powerful LA elected official is calling for a probe into Turner’s Outdoorsman, following @thetrace.org reporting on the outsize share of crime guns traced to the chain. "What The Trace has uncovered in this data is shocking and demands investigation." www.thetrace.org/2026/05/turn...

Virginia passed an assault weapons ban and restrictions on magazines over 15 rounds. Many of these same bills were vetoed in the past, which shows just how much can change after one local election. @jenmascia.bsky.social breaks it all down for @thetrace.org

Last week, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines into law. The bill was high-profile, but it was far from the only gun legislation Spanberger signed.

A Los Angeles County elected official called for a probe into Turner’s Outdoorsman, California’s largest gun retailer, citing Trace reporting that showed an outsize number of crime guns linked to the chain. Story by @amendelson.bsky.social:

In January, the former Illinois sheriff’s deputy who killed Sonya Massey was sentenced to 20 years in prison on a second-degree murder charge. The punishment is rare — especially in the Midwest, where police often face little to no consequences for fatally shooting unarmed civilians.

The Postal Service has proposed a rule that would allow handguns to be shipped through the mail, bypassing a longstanding law prohibiting the practice. Anti-violence advocates are sounding an alarm, while pro-gun advocates cheered the news. We dug into what the change could look like: thetr.ac/hPGvq

“Ghost guns are not just a law enforcement problem, they are a public health problem.” A new analysis of California gun recoveries and CDC data found that there’s a link between ghost guns, unserialized weapons assembled from kits, and suicide. It’s the first of its kind.

The U.S. has now seen three — going on four — years of historically large decreases in murders, bringing us to rates lower than before COVID. We spoke with crime data analyst Jeff Asher about what’s going on. Read more: thetr.ac/FVG8e

The Virginia Legislature passed more than two dozen gun-related bills during its 2026 session. Explore the legislation:

A recent study found that two-thirds of gun violence victims are treated in hospitals with violence intervention programs, but only 20 percent of those patients actually encounter them. The research raises questions about the accessibility of these resources. Read more: thetr.ac/w7IZl

Safeguarding is the process of temporarily taking control of someone’s guns because they’re at risk of suicide or harming someone else, without involving the justice system. The practice is somewhat analogous to laws that allow people to temporarily ban themselves from buying guns.

For the first time, the Postal Service is set to allow people in the same state to mail handguns to each other without going through a licensed dealer. Here we break down the proposed rule — which experts say is ripe for a court challenge: