CHARLOTTE, NC — WCCB Charlotte has learned the number of firearms stolen from gun shops in the Carolinas has gone up by the hundreds over the past two years.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives recovered nearly 11,000 stolen guns from North Carolina streets alone in 2014.
You see a gun shop, but a thief sees cash. Federal agents say the criminals are dead set on getting the weapon to a criminal in your neighborhood.
“This is a dangerous world; there’s some dangerous places,” said owner of Hyatt’s Gun Shop, Larry Hyatt.
Burglars try to hit his store, on average, every four months.
Police have arrested 40 thieves in the 56 years he’s been open.
The biggest haul at once was 30 guns.
“Career criminals,” said Agent Gerod King. “This is what they do for a living.”
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Agent Gerod King says crooks stole 548 guns from stores in North Carolina last year. They stole 417 in South Carolina.
That’s nearly a thousand weapons in just 136 cases.
One of the latest happened in Hickory.
Police say three guys crashed a car into Precision Sports on Highway 321 in September, stealing several handguns and high-powered rifles.
“You’re talking about anyone from a crack head who just wants to get high, to someone who’s actually engaged in criminal activity and needs a weapon to guard their drug business or stash house or someone who’s actually trafficking firearms,” said Agent King.
Once the guns enter the life of crime, he says, the weapons often turn up at crime scenes.
Agents question suspects to find out who gave them the gun and work backwards to the gun shop robberies.
Inside Hyatt’s store, there are more than 30 security cameras. The owner pays people to watch them 24/7.
The cameras, alarms, patrol officers, even concrete barriers, are all in place to stop the thieves. Still, they go as far as to cut holes in his roof to get inside.
In the Hickory case, police do have leads, but are not releasing information until they make arrests.
