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How do you avoid buying a stolen gun?

Posted at 9:03 PM, Jan 30, 2015
and last updated 2015-01-31 06:40:34-05

Virginia Beach, Va. - Stolen guns could end up in your hands. Just Thursday a gun shop in Virginia Beach was broken in to.

Police haven't said if guns were taken but if they were, John Wright who owns Virginia Firearms in Norfolk says you wouldn't see them at his shop or at a gun show.

"If someone were to bring in a firearm, we can now put it into the system. We don't do the checking. It goes to the State and they run through the different databases," Wright said.

Those databases let gun shop owners like Wright know right away if the gun someone brought in is missing or stolen.

"Last year at this time we would have to be our own detective and sit there and interview and push through it and listen to their story," Wright said.

Wright says that background system is used by those buying and selling at gun shows as well, making it virtually impossible to sell a stolen gun at a reputable dealer. He says the most important thing about purchasing a gun from another person is to just use commonsense. He says if someone is  trying to sell you a gun for a small fraction of its original price, it's probably too good of a deal to be true.