My LGS robbery.

[Model29-26.5]

My LGS was broken into and robbed last weekend.
A terrible shame, particularly this time of year.
Cameras, reinforced concrete, pillars.. no expense spared security.
Metal grill. It’s not like they hadn’t gone all out to prevent it, but these scum took a Kia and rammed the pillars six times, then into the shop front to smash through the window and steal 20 items in 30 seconds.
It is heartbreaking for them.
A 30 year business working their butts off to make it work.
I’m only a recent customer, just having done transfers in the last year. A good bunch of guys.
Sad state of affairs.
I will be seeing them this weekend to pick up some items, but I’ll ask if there is any fundraiser on the horizon and keep folks posted here… if that’s an ok thing to do with the powers that be??
Christmas is a big time in retail. They will have been thwarted by this.

Here’s the news article…
I don’t even know of they would appreciate me posting this here but I feel bad for them.
Stay safe out there.
These people are among us.


At least 20 firearms stolen from Goodlettsville, TN store gun store

 

[ajgunner]

But-but-but-how could they take all those gun and not do a single back ground check!!!

We should have laws to prevent this type of thing from happening.

 

[mckenney99]

Been through that when I was running a shop for a friend. They are still recovering guns from the burglary and the shop has been closed for several years. As the owner had just landed in Montana when the alarm went off, I got the call to respond to the scene, so my name was on all the reports and police paperwork. The most infuriating part was some of the crew were caught and eventually prosecuted in the adjoining county. I got subpoenaed by the adjoining county prosecutor's office to testify before the Grand Jury. (The adjoining county government is fully infested Democratic and completely anti-gun.) When I got before the Grand Jury the Prosecutor treated me like a criminal and like I/we were responsible for allowing the burglary to occur. This despite the investigation showed the thieves were part of a well organized multi state, multi gun store burglary ring. I was lucky that I didn't go to jail, as I was beginning to get highly agitated with the Prosecutor. I was no stranger to testifying before Grand Juries as I was the primary court officer for our Post my last 10 years, but I had never experienced that kind of animosity from a Prosecutor before.

 

[steelslaver]

That sucks. It, does show that it is really difficult to stop a determine thief. I have seen video of guys using stolen cars to smash or jerk ATM machines over and steel the cash.

I have always thought that stealing a big front end loader near a mall with a bunch of jewelry stores would be the ultimate smash and grab. Blow into the store drop the bucket and plow through all the jewelry show cases with the front lip tilted up about 18". Dump it in the back of a stolen 3/4 ton with an 8" box and haul freight.

But, then I also believe that bad money never comes to good.

Sooner or later theses guys will screw up end up in jail or get shot by their own partners or customers

 

[sigp220.45]

We had a rash of those in Colorado a couple of years ago. Same deal - stolen car or truck right through the front doors. They finally got nabbed by somebody.

I’m surprised any store leaves guns out at closing. Invest in a giant safe and an extra hour of payroll to put ‘em up at night and bring ‘em out in the am.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Two local gun shops lock all of their guns up every night at closing. Takes them about 30 minutes but it’s better than the alternative.

 

[Jebus35745]

It’s a real shame this happens. My LGS had 12 attempts, twice they had a car half way in the building. He now has boulders around the outside with a ditch around the outside of the boulders to slow a ramming vehicle Most of the attempts were breaking windows that cost the shop 1200 each or trying to pry the front door open. Insurance doesn’t pay for it either. I know what needs to happen but can’t say it here, Larry

 

[Kanewpadle]

It’s a real shame this happens. My LGS had 12 attempts, twice they had a car half way in the building. He now has boulders around the outside with a ditch around the outside of the boulders to slow a ramming vehicle Most of the attempts were breaking windows that cost the shop 1200 each or trying to pry the front door open. Insurance doesn’t pay for it either. I know what needs to happen but can’t say it here, Larry

I’ll say it for you. Shoot the bastadges.

During Covid this type of theft was more common. I know gun shop owners that slept at their shop for a while. Heavily armed.

 

[RM Vivas]

That sucks. It, does show that it is really difficult to stop a determine thief. I have seen video of guys using stolen cars to smash or jerk ATM machines over and steel the cash.

I have always thought that stealing a big front end loader near a mall with a bunch of jewelry stores would be the ultimate smash and grab. Blow into the store drop the bucket and plow through all the jewelry show cases with the front lip tilted up about 18". Dump it in the back of a stolen 3/4 ton with an 8" box and haul freight.

But, then I also believe that bad money never comes to good.

Sooner or later theses guys will screw up end up in jail or get shot by their own partners or customers

It sounds like you put more than casual thought into that. Well done.

Best,
RM Vivas

 

[lihpster]

A friend of mine wanted a '74 Toyota Celica to restore. She searched high and low for the right one. 2 years she looked and then found in a proverbial barn. It was a shop on the farm, but it was next to the barn. Low miles, cheap, and running and driving. She bought it and drove it home and began making a list of what she needed to do to it.
Two nights later, her car was stolen by 4 juveniles that rammed it into the front of a high end car stereo shop. Didn't get much, but they were caught about 5 minutes later. The car was destroyed. Luckily, it wasn't her only car, just a project, but there went the time and money she had spent chasing her dream. She never did restore a Celica, kids and a love of horses can take up a lot of "dream" money.
Since then, when I see these stories, while I feel terrible for the poor shop owners, I always remember that there's usually another victim.
I hope the perpetrators are caught, found guilty in a court of law, and then are slathered in gravy and thrown into a pit of rabid wolverines.

 

[326MOD10]

People always lose sight of the fact that a lock is only there to keep an honest person honest.

 

[Chuck24]

The pawnshop were I work had a stolen Explorer rammed through the front

 

[Kanewpadle]

People always lose sight of the fact that a lock is only there to keep an honest person honest.

Sorry brother, but that’s a cop out. No pun intended. People that believe this are quite often victimized when they should have and could have done more to protect themselves.

If done right locks can and do keep people out. At the very least slow them down long enough to give yourself a chance to react.

 

[326MOD10]

I think you missed the point brother.

The point is you can put all the safety measures in place you want but somebody will figure out a way around it they are motivated to.

All the security listed above and they still got in.

Granted a safe may have helped but I have seen safes pulled out and later found pulled apart.

The key is to make it inconvenient so they move on to the easier target. But that is no guarantee if the person is dishonest.

 

[smithman 10]

Happens all over

A pawn shop near me was robbed about a week ago in similar fashion.

A car was used to smash through the door, 30-40 guns stolen. 5 am in the morning.

I bought my Rossi .357/38 lever gun from them awhile back. Here's the link:

40 guns stolen after thieves crash stolen car into Henrico pawnshop

 

[Goldstar225]

People always lose sight of the fact that a lock is only there to keep an honest person honest.

You don't need locks for honest people.

 

[BC38]

Two local gun shops lock all of their guns up every night at closing. Takes them about 30 minutes but it’s better than the alternative.

Same with my favorite LGS.

They have wheeled 2-tier carts with flat, stackable tupperware type containers with foam in the bottom.

They wheel them up to the gun counter, lay the open containers on top of the counters and move every gun from the cases to the containers, stacking them back on the carts when they are full.

Then they wheel the carts into the gun vault - and I mean VAULT. It is a reinforced room with a door like a bank vault.

They manage to clear out the cases in about a half hour every night and reload them in a half hour the next morning.

They also have a good, monitored security system. So far, they've not been broken into - at least not in the 11 years I've been going there.

When they set the alarm and lock the door there's not enough merchandise with high value left exposed for it to be worth it for thieves to pull a smash-n-grab.

You don't have to try to make theft 100% impossible - you just gotta' make sure the juice ain't worth the squeeze.

 

[Nomadmax]

Burglary is theft from a structure.

Robbery is theft from a person by force or threat of force.

It's a shame that shop had the loss, especially this time of year.

 

[RM Vivas]

Same with my favorite LGS.

They have wheeled 2-tier carts with flat, stackable tupperware type containers with foam in the bottom.

They wheel them up to the gun counter, lay the open containers on top of the counters and move every gun from the cases to the containers, stacking them back on the carts when they are full.

Then they wheel the carts into the gun vault - and I mean VAULT. It is a reinforced room with a door like a bank vault.

They manage to clear out the cases in about a half hour every night and reload them in a half hour the next morning.

They also have a good, monitored security system. So far, they've not been broken into - at least not in the 11 years I've been going there.

When they set the alarm and lock the door there's not enough merchandise with high value left exposed for it to be worth it for thieves to pull a smash-n-grab.

You don't have to try to make theft 100% impossible - you just gotta' make sure the juice ain't worth the squeeze.

When I used to run the gun counter at Bass Pro, this is how we locked up the handguns every night. Same way I did it in my shop.

The long guns all had Master brand trigger locks on them. Each trigger lock had a steel lcable loop on it. At night I would leave the long guns in the racks and just take an 8-foot section of pipe with a large T welded on one end and thread it through the steel loops, and slap a padlock on the end. Now the only way to walk off with the guns was to have to pick up all 24 at once (each rack was 24 guns) and try to negotiate the doorways and gates with that over your shoulder!

The local cops and I had discussed how to deal with burglaries/attacks on the shop many times. I was closer and had a better response time than they did. I told them if they got an alarm call, run it code 3, park 50 yards from the building and just follow the tracers in, because I was going to be across the street laying down suppressing fire.

Best,
RM Vivas

 

[mtgianni]

A shop in Missoula I used to frequent often had over 500 long guns in stock and it also carried handguns. I can't see a safe big enough for that.