Philadelphia district attorney discusses what needs to be done to curb gun violence

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• Amna Nawaz:

  We return now to the city of Philadelphia, where a mass shooting on the eve of July 4 left five people dead.

  The suspect, 40-year-old Kimbrady Carriker, was arraigned today on a host of charges, including five counts of first-degree murder. And in response to the shootings, the Philadelphia mayor announced this afternoon that the city is suing to firearm parts manufacturers.

  Joining me now is district attorney of Philadelphia Larry Krasner.

  DA Krasner, welcome, and thanks for joining us.

  I want to start with that lawsuit that the mayor just announced. The city is suing two companies, Polymer 80 and JSD Supply.

  What can you tell us about why the city is taking that move now?

• Larry Krasner, Philadelphia District Attorney:

  Well, the city has tried and will continue to try to go after gun manufacturers. That has been almost impossible.

  I think the opportunity here is, because we're talking about parts manufacturers, the parts being used for ghost guns. Ghost guns are usually about 80 percent plastic, about 20 percent metal. And they represent a giant loophole in both federal and state law. Basically, what people do is, they buy two different sets of parts.

  And then they go into basement, put them together. The minute they're assembled in the basement, it's a crime. But we nevertheless have a world where you can get around all sorts of gun regulation, not that we have enough. We don't. But you can purchase this — these things and you can massively sell them out of your basement.

  Their purpose, of course, is crime. These are not the best guns, although they work. But there are guns that are not serialized, for which there are no records. So people wanting to commit a mass shooting or commit a bank robbery or otherwise harm people and commit crimes are drawn to ghost guns.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Are these two companies linked to this shooting in any way?

• Larry Krasner:

  There was a ghost gun involved in this case. I don't know whether these particular companies were involved.

  But the killer, in this case, came out of his residence wearing a bulletproof vest. He had an AR-15-style assault rifle, which is how he committed all of these killings and shootings. And he also carried with him a ghost gun that he did not actually use during this incident before he was apprehended.

• Amna Nawaz:

  You have been lamenting in the last couple of the lack of gun safety laws in Pennsylvania.

  We know the city of Philadelphia has tried in the past to pass its own local gun safety laws and been thwarted by the state. It would take state legislators changing the so-called preemption law, right, for Philadelphia and other municipalities to be able to do that. Do you see that kind of reform happening at the state level?

• Larry Krasner:

  Well, we can try.

  I mean, the good news in Pennsylvania is that we have Democratic control, however sleight, of the House for the first time in 12 years, that is, the state House. The Senate is still controlled by Republicans. And so I think we're making progress. But it is going to be a challenge to get Republicans, whose identity seems to be so wrapped up in eliminating choice and making sure that every born child has a gun to tuck into their diaper — it would be a little hard to get them to take a more reasonable stand.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Well, what specific law do you think would have prevented this shooting from happening?

• Larry Krasner:

  I think there are several that might, serious background checks.

  This is an individual who had a conviction from a case that originated in 2003. I think a red flag law, because we know that there's a significant history of mental health, although we don't have all the details, that there was bizarre behavior in advance of this mass shooting. If there was a pathway for people to report it, they might have done so, as he was, at least in his residence, walking around with guns and a bulletproof vest, saying unusual things.

  Let's put it that way. So I think those are just a couple. But just to speak more broadly, we have a country that has more guns than people. It's absurd the level of violence and the level of people being armed that we have. And the only answer the NRA has is, well, it's really dangerous out there. Make save yourself safe. How? Buy another gun.

  This is insanity.

• Amna Nawaz:

  DA Krasner, in the absence of legislation, what more can be done? What more could your office do?

  I mean, I know, in the past, Republican lawmakers have claimed some of your policies — they're citing declining conviction rates for gun possession crimes — contributed to the rise in violent crime. Do you think your office has been as tough as it can be on those gun possession cases? And if you were tougher, would that help stem gun violence in Philadelphia?

• Larry Krasner:

  You know, the problem with our Republican critics is, we actually tell the truth, and we have the information to back it up.

  They have yet to come forward with anything that shows that our policies have endangered people in Philadelphia. The truth is, we're extremely good at the prosecution of violent crime committed with guns. We just know that it is more important to go after shooters than to act like anyone who possesses a gun, but failed to get a permit to carry it, is equally dangerous.

  We did the numbers. The numbers look like this. One out of 100 people arrested for possession of a gun is going to turn up arrested as a shooter later, one out of 100. That's different than shooters; 100 out of 100 shooters are shooters.

  So while it's very important to go after illegal gun possession, and we have a bunch of hurdles, including illegal police searches due to certain policing policies and certain changes in the law, while that's important, it is actually more important to go after people who are killing people with guns, shooting people with guns.

  That is what we said from the beginning. The data shows we were right. The Philadelphia Police Department's behavior, in which they have come up with a new unit to investigate shootings, shows that, at some level, they agree that there is a difference between shooters and people who possess, some of whom might be shooters, but many of whom are not.

• Amna Nawaz:

  DA Krasner, we report often on the cumulative toll that this gun violence can take in a community, so we're thinking about the residents of Philadelphia. And we thank you for joining us tonight.

  That is district attorney of Philadelphia Larry Krasner joining us.

• Larry Krasner:

  Thank you.