ORLANDO, Fla. -- Guns are so prevalent in Orlando that 50 percent of the young men in the downtown area on weekends are carrying them or have access to them in a vehicle, according to a 20-year police veteran.

"There are always guns involved, in just about every call," Orlando police veteran Derwin Bradley said. "Out of every two guys walking down the street, one of them will have a gun."

Bradley said he has to assume most of the young men are armed.

"You have to assume (most are carrying guns) if you want to stay alive out here in this job," Bradley said. "Last weekend we took a guy down here on the corner and he had a gun under his shirt and he had been in a club."

Police opened up a large locker filled with AK-47s, shotguns and other guns seized in Orlando and surrounding cities in July.

Investigators said most of the guns are coming from gun store smash-and-grab crimes in Orange County.

"A great deal of it can be attributed to some gun store burglaries we suffered in Orange County within the past year," Orange County sheriff's Sgt. Jimmy Hernandez said. "Unfortunately, some stores were leaving guns out in the open, so it was an easy target. Now, they are doing a better job of securing them."

Several times this year thieves have backed a truck through walls of gun shops and looted businesses.

A member of the sheriff's organized crime squad said most of the stolen guns end up on the streets.

"When you hear about a gun store being burglarized and 100 guns stolen, certainly that increases your fear level," Hernandez said.

Authorities said serial numbers found on seized guns show that many of the stolen weapons stay in Central Florida, WKMG-TV reported.

A new Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms task force is hoping to slow the surge in violent crime.

"I can assure you that we've initiated the violent crime impact team here, which consists of Orange County (sheriffs) and the Orlando Police Department," AFT representative Russ May said. Let's give it a chance. As there is a surge in violent crime, sometimes it takes law enforcement time to catch up to that surge."

The city of Orlando has a gun bounty program. Anyone with information about someone using a gun illegally is urged to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.

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