My LGS robbery.

[Farmer17]

Every gun store, pawn shop, or jewelry store should have the big concrete filled, steel pipe bollards in front or the store, they are relatively cheap and easy to install. However one gun store by me had this done and his bollards were spaced a tiny bit too wide. A guy took a little Ford Ranger truck and went between them and smashed through front windows and got about 20 handguns. The store closed about a year later and that was a shame, it was nice store.

 

[Model29-26.5]

Every gun store, pawn shop, or jewelry store should have the big concrete filled, steel pipe bollards in front or the store, they are relatively cheap and easy to install. However one gun store by me had this done and his bollards were spaced a tiny bit too wide. A guy took a little Ford Ranger truck and went between them and smashed through front windows and got about 20 handguns. The store closed about a year later and that was a shame, it was nice store.

This store has bollards. Still not strong enough to be rammed six times.

 

[YeshuaIsa53]

A man retired and started a LGS for his retirement. This was in a small town not really too far from here. News said a person or persons walked in, killed the man, and walked out with his guns. Not my idea of a healthy retirement, though I had given that much thought over the years.

Must add this was years ago.

 

[desi2358]

A real shame. Our shop had a similar smash & grab, ran a stolen sedan through one of the front windows. busted through the wall and the heavy cage covering the glass. Snatched a few handguns and one long gun and drove off. Got chased (a cruiser was just down the street when the alarm went off) but lost him just long enough to run the car into some woods behind some apartments and bail with what they stole. As far as I know nothing has ever been recovered (I still have the handgun boxes) as none of us has ever been contacted about them.

Thieves like these really disgust me. They don't care how much damage they do. Besides the damage and loss for the business (and its owners) there are other affected such as the car owner. The idiots who hit us took off and led a high speed chase where someone totally uninvolved could have been injured or killed because of their behavior.

 

[44wheelman]

Springboro gun shop in Ohio? He had about 30 guns stolen from his shop; organized theft. Couple of the guns pop up from time to time in Cincinnati.

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.

 

[cndrdk]

Every gun store, pawn shop, or jewelry store should have the big concrete filled, steel pipe bollards in front or the store, they are relatively cheap and easy to install. However one gun store by me had this done and his bollards were spaced a tiny bit too wide. A guy took a little Ford Ranger truck and went between them and smashed through front windows and got about 20 handguns. The store closed about a year later and that was a shame, it was nice store.

Sounds just like a buddy of mine who had a little shop in Ft Worth/Haltom City back in the 90's.

First time they rammed it with a stolen p/u, got only a few cheap guns as others and rifles were locked up in safe at night. However, they did cause about $20 thou damage to the shop.
Put the bollards up and not just pipe/concrete but steel poles with abut 1/2 thick walls.

Month or so later, same thing but used a small stolen p/u and went thru the bollards. Tore up the p/u real bad but p/u far enough in to hit the front doors. Again, a few cheap guns taken, and damage to the store.

Couple months later I happened to be working in the area and around 0200 was driving down the freeway and looked over and observed a p/u sitting in front of the business adjoining the gun shop. Took next exit, circled under the freeway, cut my lights and crept back to the shop. Took me about 2 minutes or less and as I neared the shop I was spotted by the lookout. He and 2 others ran out the carpet store, behind the shop, through vacant lots and yards. I chased as far as I could but they were long gone. Went back to the shop and they had crashed a stolen p/u through to adjoining carpet shop and was already chopping a hole in the wall to the gun shop. I radioed the local police department and they were on the scene immediately but unable to locate the runners. However, a few minutes later the pickup guy for the thieves and loot drove slowly down the access road by the shop. He was stopped and arrested as he had in his possession a handgun from another gun store smash and grab.

 

[45Smashemflat]

Similar technique was used at 2-3 shops in middle Ga in the same night. Most of the guns recovered up in Va, or so I heard. Both shops are now bollarded up in depth.

 

[James K]

Those concrete bollards need to be iron tubes filled with concrete and sunk no less than 4 feet deep. Those at the subject store aren't strong enough to stop a vehicle.

 

[offrdmania]

It boggles my mind how shops leave guns out at night. Thats just laziness. My local shops lock up every single gun from the walls and in the cases every night. Their safes are also in secure rooms.

 

[mckenney99]

Springboro gun shop in Ohio? He had about 30 guns stolen from his shop; organized theft. Couple of the guns pop up from time to time in Cincinnati.

Not us but it was part of the same crew that utilized juvenile gang members with adult "organizers". Same group hit us and 3 other shops in 2 nights. They only got 11 handguns from us (in & out in about 56 seconds). So far about half of the handguns have been recovered from across the state.
We had hardened the shop as much as the property management would allow us. Biggest safe he could afford for the NFA stuff. The property managers would not permit bollards, bars on the doors (even temporary at night) or even rolling gates of ANY TYPE. The shop owner even built in some security features that actually violated the lease but they were done well enough that the property managers never raised the issue.
Some have said that we should have set up somewhere else, that would allow more security. Easier said than done. The owner spent over 6 months talking to dozens of property managers with LOTS of open spaces in the area and NONE would even consider allowing a gun shop.

 

[boykinlp]

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

What guns got stolen, handguns or long guns?
Larry

 

[Golphin]

In my area of Florida as far as I know not much if any of this has gone on so far. Some guys from out of town tried it one night years ago at Beckwith Gun Shop but it did not turn out so good for them as Harry Beckwith lived next to his shop and had a class 3 license. Harry is gone now but the gun store is still going strong. There are still scares on the block walls from some of the bullets Harry shot. Here is a link to the store scroll down on the page and read about the night 7 tried to rob Harrys store. It is a good read.

OUR HISTORY - Gun Shop in Newberry Florida - Harry Beckwith.

 

[Hair Trigger]

"We got concrete pillars buried in concrete, double bars, glass breakage detectors, alarms, cameras. We've got everything"...

What they needed was a couple of short-tempered and hungry Rottweilers wandering around inside. Then they might not have needed any of the other stuff.

 

[Beemer-mark]

This store has bollards. Still not strong enough to be rammed six times.

By a KIA Soul no less!!

 

[Lucnic]

Had one pawn shop owner in my hometown that slept in his shop after being burglarized. Killed two one night during a break in. Never had another problem. Another had a big sign inside that read “ This business occupied three nights a week. You guess which three. “. Worked for him.

 

[Golddollar]

A shop that I patronize in the Cleveland suburbs at least for awhile had Jersey walls in front of the shop.

 

[Kanewpadle]

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.

One of my buddies owns a pawn shop. When he bought the building he is in now, he was elated to find an underground vault built by a previous owner complete with a Liberty vault door. And a dumb waiter.

He has over one thousand guns in stock/storage.

When they close at night, they close the blinds. They put the guns downstairs and then open the blinds again.

With the lights on inside, anyone can see that there are no guns left out.

The same goes for jewelry and coins too.

 

[Doug M.]

What they needed was a couple of short-tempered and hungry Rottweilers wandering around inside. Then they might not have needed any of the other stuff.

*
As much as I like rotties, and have been known to say "What is black and brown and looks good on almost everybody? A pack of rottweilers", I would have Filas. My avatar was a rottXfila. Great with us, but vile to an extent you have to see to believe with strangers. They are genetically intolerant of strangers and an adult male will be about 150. 2, or even better 3 or 4 of those will mess up an intruder. If you want something effective but less nasty, Boerboels. Been around a few, and while gentle with people allowed around, they will make an intruder really understand "regret".

A local shop has big safes and in spite of all their other passive security measures, even night they move the guns into the safes.

 

[bobsguns]

All the security listed above and they still got in.

Wehn someone doesn't care about the health of a car, then more than a moderate amount of security is needed. This shop didn't do that, that I could see.

At some point I see the robbers just getting larger & larger vehicles. Not to mention, all shops have to have ADA accessible entries/exits (rightfully so).

So................ Whadda do?

All I can see doing it have very, very stout barricades to the front door entry area. I might use telephone pole-like wood (but no taper) Stacked horizontally, bolted to some seriously big steel channel. 18" or so poles will absorb a great deal of abuse.

Another maybe is several of those concrete sewer cap-looking pieces. Looks like an igloo but only a manhole sized open port on top? Space them apart enough for a wheelchair (or stretcher, for that matter) & you can protect from a good-sized vehicle. Bonus points if they've got lots of concrete as an added anchor.

For that matter, discount all that & just hire a rent-a-mall-cop to sit outside on a guard shack of some sort. He/she would be there any time the store was closed. Eyes-only, there to call the cops, shine lights & sound off the fire bells. They don't even have to leave the shack, build a bathroom in there too. Never have to worry about a power outage, the guard has NO access to the store, everything is camera recorded.

Anyone who has ever demo'd a building will tell you, it's easy to access the interior. Walls, windows & ceilings are especially thin & not well protected from a sledge hammer, in multiple hits. Yeah, it's loud & obvious, so that helps in preventing it.

Aside from a huge, huge, gun room (built bank-vault specs or close to it) to put EVERYTHING in at the end of each & every day, I don't know how to do it.

The average FFL doesn't have $300K laying around, looking for a gun room to build. Maybe twice that.

Just a depressing thing to have to deal with.

 

[bobsguns]

"We got concrete pillars buried in concrete, double bars, glass breakage detectors, alarms, cameras. We've got everything"...

What they needed was a couple of short-tempered and hungry [STRIKE]Rottweilers[/STRIKE] feminists wandering around inside. Then they might not have needed any of the other stuff.

Fixed it..............