Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday said that nearly 1,500 people have been arrested under the law enforcement initiative known as “Operation Legend.”
During a news conference in Kansas City, Mo., Barr said that 217 of those arrested under the initiative have been charged with federal crimes and that 90 defendants have been charged in homicides.
Barr added that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives seized nearly 400 firearms.
The Justice Department launched “Operation Legend” in Kansas City on July 8 and was later expanded to Chicago, Albuquerque, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Memphis, Tenn.
Under the program, federal law enforcement agencies work in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to combat violent crime.
“Operation Legend is the heart of the federal response to this uptick in violent crime,” Barr said. “Its mission is to save lives, solve crimes and take violent offenders off our streets before they can claim more victims.”
The initiative was named after 4-year-old Legend Taliferro, who was shot and killed by a bullet while asleep in his Kansas City home on the morning of June 29.
Last week, a prosecutor in Missouri announced murder charges against 22-year-old Ryson Ellison in the case.
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