Possession of firearms on VCU campus in Richmond is illegal. Even those that have a permit to carry concealed handguns are barred from carrying guns on VCU campus by state statute. But VCU Police have admitted to seizing firearms from people who dare to even get near the college.

Style Weekly reports that the police are concerned that guns *might* be carried onto campus and have stretched their domain out into town.

After a series of random shootings near the campus, Virginia Commonwealth University Police have become proactive and aggressive in seizing weapons. "We've really targeted the guns," VCU Police Sgt. Chris Preuss says. And on nights when they scour city streets for them, he says, police pick up "generally one to two every night." Most of the guns have been confiscated on the periphery of campus, in the 800 and 900 blocks of Broad, Grace and Harrison streets, says VCU Police Chief Willie Fuller. The initiative started earlier this year, Fuller says, when officers scouring the area at night noticed more and more guns in vehicles, that apparently belonged to local club patrons. None of those arrested have been VCU students.

"We didn't want this stuff spilling over to campus," Fuller says.

...VCU Police have seized 30 guns of various makes and models over six months, ranging from Ruger 40-calibers to Glock 357s to AK-47s, says Sgt. Preuss. He carries a folder with pictures of confiscated weapons that he'll give to federal officials in the U.S. Attorney�s office.

They don't say if the seizures were the result of criminal investigations, or if officers were just breaking into cars and stealing them. The truth is probably somewhere in between, but I think if they have valid reasons for seizing them (other than getting to close to VCU's "gun-free" zone), it would have been trumpeted.

UPDATE: VCDL reports that the guns were seized in accordance with the law.

I talked to a sergeant (Prues) with the VCU police and he said the guns were taken during traffic stops from people (he used the term "hip-hop crowd") who either had them illegally concealed or weren't allowed to have them by law. He said they were not bothering those who legally carried guns either openly or concealed.