Police: Nearly 6,000 illegal guns seized this year

CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago Police say officers have seized nearly 6,000 illegal guns so far this year.

That is about 250 more guns than officers took off the streets during the same period last year.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson announced the totals on Wednesday, a day after the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the number of arrests dropped 24 percent between 2015 and 2016. He acknowledged that arrests have dropped but said the gun seizures and a rise in the number of arrests of suspects of violent crimes shows officers continue to aggressively battle crime.

Police also say the number of homicides has dropped slightly this year compared to the same period in 2016, a year that ended with more homicides - 762 - than any year in more than two decades.