Bridgeport Has Lowest Per Capita Rate Of Registered Assault Weapons

A story from Hersam Acorn newspapers reveals, based on State Police statistics, Bridgeport has “the lowest per capita rate of about four assault weapons per 1,000 residents” in Fairfield County. Bridgeport is listed with the eighth most registered assault weapons in Fairfield County but factoring in its population has the net lowest. Shelton, with a population of roughly 41,000 to Bridgeport’s 145,000, has more than twice the registered assault weapons. The stats, of course, do not factor in unregistered assault weapons.

Rural Sherman has the highest rate of registered assault weapons, according to the article. From Hersam Acorn:

Section 53-202a of the Connecticut General Statutes defines an assault weapon as “any selective-fire firearm capable of fully automatic, semiautomatic or burst fire at the option of the user.”

According to data The Bulletin’s sister paper, The Ridgefield Press, obtained from the state police under the Freedom of Information Act, there are 11,322 registered assault weapons in Fairfield County.

Fairfield County
Here are the number of assault weapons in all 23 Fairfield County municipalities:
· Shelton: 1,346.
· Stamford: 1,166.
· Norwalk: 1,019.
· Danbury: 772.
· Stratford: 748.
· Trumbull: 746.
· Fairfield: 628.
· Bridgeport: 555
· Monroe: 460.
· Newtown: 445.
· Greenwich: 432.
· Wilton: 376.
· Brookfield: 347.
· Ridgefield: 328.
· New Fairfield: 287.
· Bethel: 276.
· New Canaan: 263.
· Westport: 263.
· Easton: 227.
· Redding: 182.
· Darien: 169
· Sherman: 147.
· Weston: 140.

Based on the state police data and 2012 population data from the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, the municipality with the highest per capita rate of assault weapons is Sherman, with a population of 3,615 and a rate of about 41 assault weapons per 1,000 residents.

With a 2012 population of 144,446, Bridgeport has the lowest per capita rate of about four assault weapons per 1,000 residents.

Full story here.