Gun Control Reform Activism

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Chicago street gang member to 10 years behind bars for stealing more than 100 newly minted guns from a Norfolk Southern yard, saying such thefts have contributed to "an epidemic of violence" in the city.

Before sentencing, a prosecutor also described what he said was a little known but active criminal "subculture" where thieves, such as Andrew Shelton, regularly target trains in Chicago, the nation's No. 1 rail hub.

Shelton and seven other gang members slipped with relative ease into the South Side yard on April 12, 2015, to steal the guns, which were en route from New Hampshire's Sturm, Ruger & Co. weapons maker to Gunarama Wholesale in Spokane.