30 firearms stolen from Glasgow gun range

GLASGOW, Ky. – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the National Shooting Sports Foundation are asking for the publics help in identifying individuals who they say broke into a business and stole weapons.

Tuesday night, an unknown number of suspects burglarized Sportsman’s Gun & Indoor Range, in Glasgow.

ATF representatives said in a press release, burglars forced their way inside through a front entrance door and stole 30 firearms and left in what appears to be a silver sedan.

The president of the company says thefts from any business are damaging, but stealing expensive firearms is especially impactful on a smaller business.

“Running and owning a small business is difficult enough without someone coming in and basically creating a financial burden that was unnecessary. Of course, we are insured but we do have deductibles that we have to pay so we are out of pocket a considerable amount of money. The biggest thing is you feel violated that somebody came in and stole from you,” said JJ Akins, the president of Sportsman’s Gun & Indoor Range.

Shawn Morrow, the special agent in charge of the Louisville Field Division for the ATF says if these firearms are sold on the street, they are likely to get into the hands of people who should not own them.

“Anytime that firearms make their way into the hands of criminals, or crime guns as we call them, it is a significant threat to the community. We are often concerned about where those guns are going and what they’re going to be used for. We’re worried about who may possess them. For instance, if it’s somebody who has a violent criminal history or a convicted felon or perhaps an armed drug dealer, a gang member or other individuals who may even try to harm law enforcement. So, ATF takes these cases very seriously. We work with our state and local partners to try to determine who is responsible for the thefts and ultimately we want to try to recover the weapons,” said Morrow.

“Whenever individuals steal firearms, it’s typically because they can’t legally purchase them. This is how criminals get firearms; they steal them. The past instances that we’ve dealt with this, typically these guns are recovered in pretty unsavory situations,” said Akins.
Monday, just one day before the burglary, Smith’s Grove Gun and Archery reported an attempted burglary.

Now, police are releasing images of the people they believe were involved in the attempt.

Morrow says they are looking into a possible connection.

“Whenever there’s some type of burglaries in close proximity to each other, there’s always the potential that the crimes are linked, that it’s the same group of individuals responsible. So we will work diligently to try to identify who is responsible for both and soon we hope to know if they are related,” said Morrow.

ATF is offering a reward of up to $2,500 which will be matched by the NSSF for a total possible reward of up to $5,000. The reward is part of a larger national cooperative initiative between the NSSF and ATF in which NSSF matches ATF’s reward in cases involving the theft of firearms from federally licensed firearms retailers. ATF works closely with members of the firearms industry to curb the criminal acquisition and misuse of firearms.

Anyone with information about this crime should contact ATF at 1-888-ATF-TIPS or the ATF Bowling Green, KY Field Office at (270) 393-4755. Information can also be sent to ATFTips@atf.gov, through ATF’s website at www.atf.gov/contact/atftips. Tips can be submitted anonymously using the Reportit® app, available from both Google Play and the Apple App store, or by visiting www.reportit.com. All tips will be kept confidential.

ATF is the federal agency with jurisdiction over violations of federal firearms laws. For more information about ATF and its programs go to www.atf.gov.