Baltimore's 'Crime Suppression Unit' Targeting Illegal Guns

BALTIMORE (WJZ)--The detectives involved in last night's shoot-out are part of a ramped up effort to target illegal guns.

Today, we learned more about the "Crime Suppression Unit," active on the streets of Baltimore each and every day.

WJZ's Mary Bubala has more.

A WJZ investigation revealed a new, detailed & targeted push against criminals who carry illegal guns.

It launched after crime soared following the April Freddie Gray unrest.

"We think that one of the drivers of the violence that's occurred this year in Baltimore is simply that more people are carrying guns in the street," said U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein. "It's not that there are more guns here than there were in the spring, it's that people are less likely to leave them at home and more likely to carry them with them. And the consequence of that is you get more random shootings, more shootings that arise out of momentary, spur of the moment disputes."

Baltimore City police tell WJZ that's why when BPD's Crime Suppression Unit saw 32-year-old Ryan Martin on Oakmont Avenue with a gun, they went after him.

Martin shot at police three times before he was killed.

The officer who was shot remains in stable condition.

Bubala: "How effective is the Crime Suppression Unit?"

"Some of our methods include surveillance, undercover operations, some overtly plain clothed operations some uniformed operations anything that they have in their arsenal, any technique they can use to bring that small minority and hold them accountable," said Lt. Jarron Jackson.

"There are two things that drive crime in Baltimore City: drugs and guns. And the violence is primarily a product of guns," said Rosenstein. "People are being shot. There's not a lot of stabbings, not a lot of people who are beaten to death or strangled to death, primarily they're gunshots."

City police tell us they've removed nearly 3,500 illegal guns off the streets since last year.

TUNE IN: Friday as WJZ takes you inside the city police crime lab for a rare look at exactly how they can link just one gun to multiple crimes.