An inside look at how London, Ont., police go from seizing illegal guns to finding out how they got here

With the number of reported shootings in London, Ont., reaching 20 in 2025, police say they're working tirelessly to pinpoint where illegal firearms are coming from and take them off the streets.

The Guns and Gangs Section of the London Police Service (LPS) has traced the origin of 31 guns so far this year in the Firearms Analysis and Tracing Enforcement (FATE) process.

Police officials gave CBC London an inside look at how that process begins and how investigators learn about everything from the owner’s identity to a weapon’s origin.

DNA, prints and other human clues

After a firearm arrives in the Forensics Identification Section lab, Det. Const. Craig Walsh, a forensic specialist, immediately gets to work looking for clues.

The laboratory deep inside the police station is filled wit