Last night I finished duty a little early. I left the station about 10:40 for the 6 minute walk home. On the way I had a feeling in my gut that something just was not right, but I could not say what that was. There was little road traffic and I had seen no-one else out and about as I came through town to the station.
After almost two months of our summer weather we had experienced a light shower about 30 minutes beforehand with rain forces overnight. That should have given me some idea of what I was feeling. It is not for nothing that we call rain a burglars friend.
After getting home I relaxed for 30 minutes before going to bed. Sometime before midnight the dogs ran outside and started barking. As neither of the garage sensor lights had come on I thought it was a hedgehog or cat roaming around so I called them in.
This morning I got up just before 6 am for a two day shooting competition. I had loaded my range bag and ammo in the car on Thursday evening but still needed to get my pistol out of the safe. On walking into the garage I was approaching the pistol safe when I saw my small ring Mauser .243 rifle in a soft case lying on the chair in front of my loading bench.
The last time I had seen the rifle it was cased and in the safe waiting to go to the range to sight in the new scope I had mounted. Looking towards my rifle safe I saw the door was open. How had that happened and how had the rifle fallen across the chair almost two steps away?
On approaching the safe I saw it was ...... empty!!!
The electronic lock on the front of the safe had been smashed off (I later found it outside the window) and the mechanism forced.
That's when i saw the sheet of plywood I had fastened across the window that had been broken in the August '17 burglary was gone. The bars on the inside had been partially unscrewed and my CAS rig, cartridge belt plus several other holsters and belts were missing off the hooks on the walls.
I was looking around to see what else had been taken when i found the wooden cabinet that holds all my military rifles had also been forced open and all the containers with my pistol magazines, which had been on top of the safe, were gone too.
16 rifles and shotguns, 10 X 7 round .45 1911 mags, 9 X 9mm 1911 mags, 3 X mags for my CZ75 style pistol, 5 X 15-22 and the same number of Browning Buckmark magazines... all gone.
So far the value is in excess of NZ $16,000 and rising fast.
After the last burglary I had stepped up my security with bars on the windows, a second sensor light and a 3mm (1/8") steel safe instead of racks for my rifles. And the dirtbags still managed to defeat them all.
It has taken the shine off what was supposed to be a good weekend.
After almost two months of our summer weather we had experienced a light shower about 30 minutes beforehand with rain forces overnight. That should have given me some idea of what I was feeling. It is not for nothing that we call rain a burglars friend.
After getting home I relaxed for 30 minutes before going to bed. Sometime before midnight the dogs ran outside and started barking. As neither of the garage sensor lights had come on I thought it was a hedgehog or cat roaming around so I called them in.
This morning I got up just before 6 am for a two day shooting competition. I had loaded my range bag and ammo in the car on Thursday evening but still needed to get my pistol out of the safe. On walking into the garage I was approaching the pistol safe when I saw my small ring Mauser .243 rifle in a soft case lying on the chair in front of my loading bench.
The last time I had seen the rifle it was cased and in the safe waiting to go to the range to sight in the new scope I had mounted. Looking towards my rifle safe I saw the door was open. How had that happened and how had the rifle fallen across the chair almost two steps away?
On approaching the safe I saw it was ...... empty!!!
The electronic lock on the front of the safe had been smashed off (I later found it outside the window) and the mechanism forced.
That's when i saw the sheet of plywood I had fastened across the window that had been broken in the August '17 burglary was gone. The bars on the inside had been partially unscrewed and my CAS rig, cartridge belt plus several other holsters and belts were missing off the hooks on the walls.
I was looking around to see what else had been taken when i found the wooden cabinet that holds all my military rifles had also been forced open and all the containers with my pistol magazines, which had been on top of the safe, were gone too.
16 rifles and shotguns, 10 X 7 round .45 1911 mags, 9 X 9mm 1911 mags, 3 X mags for my CZ75 style pistol, 5 X 15-22 and the same number of Browning Buckmark magazines... all gone.
So far the value is in excess of NZ $16,000 and rising fast.
After the last burglary I had stepped up my security with bars on the windows, a second sensor light and a 3mm (1/8") steel safe instead of racks for my rifles. And the dirtbags still managed to defeat them all.
It has taken the shine off what was supposed to be a good weekend.
