Uncommon cases of homicides are committed with lawfully owned firearms. - Rare Instances of Homicide Using Legally Possessed Firearms Reported in Reul
In North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany, legal firearms are seldom used in a majority of homicides, according to a special evaluation by the Ministry of the Interior. The assessment, covering 2,421 homicides between 2019 and 2024, found that only 13% of these violent crimes involved legal firearms.
In approximately 8% of the total cases, a firearm was used. Of these cases, significantly more—63%—involved illegal weapons. The status of weapons in around 25% of the cases is unknown.
When a firearm was used, it was typically a short weapon, such as a pistol, in 90% of instances. In six of the 36 cases involving a firearm in 2024, there were "links to organized crime," the ministry revealed. None of the suspected criminals possessing these illegal weapons had a weapons permit.
Approximately 839,000 registered weapons and around 154,000 private weapons and weapon parts owners reside in NRW, according to the National Weapons Register.
Minister of the Interior Herbert Reul (CDU), in response to dpa, stated: "Our evaluation indicates that legal weapons rarely come into play in homicides. This suggests that tightening gun laws would not primarily impact criminals."
Although specific details on the prevalence of legal firearms in homicides in NRW were hard to find outside of the special evaluation, queries mainly returned general information on policing and crime statistics in Germany, with little detail on weapons-related homicides. Consulting official reports or press releases from the Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia or relevant law enforcement agencies might provide more precise information on this topic.
- The employment policy for the Ministry of the Interior in North Rhine-Westphalia could incorporate a focus on addressing illegal weapons and improving the tracking of unknown weapon status in homicide cases, based on the findings from the recent evaluation.
- In light of the reported low incidence of legal firearms in homicides, the education and self-development policy of the community could potentially include courses or workshops on understanding medical-conditions and health-and-wellness, rather than prioritizing policies related to firearms ownership.
- The finance policy for the region could consider earmarking funds towards science and technology research aimed at developing alternative, non-violent methods for dealing with conflict, given the relatively low use of legal firearms in homicides.
- With the disproportionately high number of illegal firearms being used in the homicides reported, it would be worth exploring the role of organized crime networks in the illegal arms trade in the general news and technology sectors, rather than focusing solely on employment policies.
