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State of California Department of Justice
Rob Bonta
Attorney General
Attorney General
Two-day operation results in the confiscation of over 38 weapons
SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today announced that in a two-day operation in Ventura County, California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) special agents seized three assault weapons, twelve rifles, eight shotguns, 15 handguns and 22,690 rounds of ammunition from individuals prohibited from possessing them. The individuals were subjects in the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) database or were otherwise engaged in illegally acquiring or possessing an illegal weapon.
The State of California is the first and only state in the nation to have established an automated system for identifying firearm owners who are no longer allowed to possess guns. The APPS database works to identify individuals who previously procured firearms but later became barred from legally owning them because they were convicted of a felony or a violent misdemeanor, placed under a domestic violence or other restraining order, or suffer from serious mental illness.
“On a daily basis, the California Department of Justice works to combat crime and safeguard our families by removing illegal guns from our neighborhoods,” said Attorney General Becerra. “This two-day operation illustrates how California is leading the nation in combating gun violence. We will continue to partner with local law enforcement agencies to remove weapons from individuals who shouldn’t have them in order to keep our communities safe.”
This week’s firearms operation is the result of a collective effort by CA DOJ, the Ventura Police Department, Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Paula Police Department, Simi Valley Police Department, Ventura County District Attorney’s office, Oxnard Police Department, and Port Hueneme Police Department. CA DOJ personnel from Fresno, Riverside, Los Angeles, and San Diego assisted in the two-day operation.
These operations, as well as ongoing and day-to-day investigations, have reduced the number of individuals in the APPS database to a historic low. In the last five years, Cal DOJ has removed over 18,000 firearms from persons prohibited under California law from possessing them.