In the news: Toronto gets new U.S. special agent, targeting gun smuggling – thestar.com.

When a bullet kills or harms someone in Toronto, one of the first questions asked is where the gun came from.

If the weapon is thought to be American, a Toronto-based U.S. special agent pairs Canadian police with U.S. authorities to discern how it got here.

For the past seven years, that agent was Regina Lombardo, who opened Toronto's office in 2005. This month, a new agent took her place with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), which has the authority to get U.S. firearm makers to provide sales records.

Lombardo arrived here shortly after the Summer of the Gun. Her replacement, Special Agent Peter Forcelli, also arrived months after high-profile gunfire on the Toronto streets.

"There's been a lot of rival gang activity happening this past summer," Lombardo said in an interview at the U.S. Consulate, where she was based. "If they are U.S.-sourced weapons, that's where our involvement comes in."

Toronto police have said 70 per cent of guns seized after crimes were smuggled from the U.S.

…