Burning Question: Do DHS agents know where their guns are?

IG finds hundreds of weapons have gone missing -- some at bowling alleys and fast food joints.

Officers at various Homeland Security Department agencies left handguns, shotguns and automatic weapons at fast food restaurants and bowling alleys and in truck beds, the Washington Post reports.

In total, the DHS inspector general reported, 289 weapons went missing between 2005 and 2008. In some cases, the reasons were beyond officers' control; in others, carelessness seems to be the problem.

Putting this in context, DHS agencies reported that they have a total of nearly 190,000 firearms in hand as of last July -- and that doesn't include those used by the Transportation Security Administration, where the size of the inventory is kept secret.

Report finds DHS does poor job securing its own firearms
(Washington Post)

Burning Question is a recurring feature that looks at key issues and compelling stories being explored at other publications and social media sites covering the federal government.