Several Fayetteville firearm dealers have been identified by USA TODAY as part of a list from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, showing retailers whose gun sales have been linked to crimes in 2023.

The shops appearing on the list sold at least 25 guns that were traced to 2023 crimes and were purchased in the last three years.

Courtesy of a Freedom of Information Act request, USA TODAY reported more than 1,300 shop locations nationwide are shown on the list. The records are part of the ATF’s Demand 2 Program, which aims to trace firearms used in crimes, with a focus on prohibiting illegal trafficking and sales.

The following Fayetteville gun retailers were included on the list published by USA TODAY:

• Ace Pawn Shop: 5721 Bragg Blvd., Fayetteville

• Jery’s Pawn: 518 N. Bragg Blvd., Spring Lake

• Guns Plus: 1503 N. Bragg Blvd., Spring Lake

• Guns Plus Too: 6257 Raeford Road, Unit 2, Fayetteville

• Jim’s Gun Jobbery: 4632 Yadkin Road, Fayetteville

• Money Quick Pawn and Guns: 8006 Raeford Road, Fayetteville

• Rhudy’s Firearms and Accessories: 2410 Murchison Road, Fayetteville

Jery’s Pawn Manager Rick Bradley commented on his store’s appearance on the ATF’s list.

“It’s not the gun’s fault; it’s the person who fired the guns,” the manager of five years said. “We need to start blaming the people that actually are pulling the trigger.”

No other store provided an immediate comment Saturday regarding their inclusion on the list.

The gun dealers with Federal Firearm Licenses (FFL) face more scrutiny from the ATF, as they are required to submit annual reports and additional quarterly reports about used firearm purchases.

Being included on the list can be seen as “a warning to those shops,” wrote USA TODAY reporter Nick Penzenstadler. “Criminals are targeting you for gun trafficking and straw purchasing — where people legally prohibited from buying firearms enlist a stand-in purchaser.”

More: Gun recovered Thursday at Cumberland County high school, student charged

USA TODAY stated a business’s inclusion on the list is not condemnation. An ATF spokesperson told USA TODAY multiple factors, “including geography, sales volume, secondary market transfers by an original lawful purchaser, and the level of sophistication of firearm traffickers, may be involved in a traced crime gun.”

Shops and pawn dealers in the program represent about 3% of the roughly 80,000 licensees nationwide, according to the article.

More than 70 other North Carolina firearm dealers are on the list, including shops in Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem and Wilmington. The full list can be found on the USA TODAY website.

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville, NC gun stores on ATF list for sales linked to crimes