The Liberal Gun Club Forum

They backed a car through the front glass doors, and made off with an estimated $12,000 worth of firearms.

Here's the local paper with security cam video:

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/53380 ... -gun-store

This is a LGS I frequent, and bought a pistol from a few months ago. The owner, Wael Hadid, is an excellent gunsmith who has done some work for me including rebarreling a Garand.

So its a damn shame, and I hope Wael was well insured and can get back on his feet soon.

The only good part of this is, I know Wael had some excellent collector's firearms in that shop that would have been worth a lot more than the 12K. So they didn't get the good stuff.

Not a single 4473 filled out.

These organized smash and grabs seem to be on the rise.

JColville wrote:Not a single 4473 filled out.

These organized smash and grabs seem to be on the rise.

Certainly seems that way. Instantaneous background checks and registration! On a serious note I'm wondering if media attention is encouraging this activity.

sikacz wrote:On a serious note I'm wondering if media attention is encouraging this activity.

I thought about that too. It almost seems like a copycat crime of the Houston gun store break in.

I'm not sure if the media is to blame as much as YouTube posters -- including us!

We'll probably see more "armoring" of gun store storefronts, as well as jewelry stores, etc. I have already seen some indications of that happening.

Yeah, I'm pretty surprised in fact that there isn't a bit more armoring. Back in my retail electronics days at one of the big box stores in the early 1990's, we still had the concrete/steel posts in front to prevent the smash and grab, along with the metal gates. I'd imagine we'll see more of that for sure.

In Dallas they are going for the ATMs on just about a daily basis weekends when they go for two or three.

Elmo wrote:

sikacz wrote:On a serious note I'm wondering if media attention is encouraging this activity.

I thought about that too. It almost seems like a copycat crime of the Houston gun store break in.

I'm not sure if the media is to blame as much as YouTube posters -- including us!

We'll probably see more "armoring" of gun store storefronts, as well as jewelry stores, etc. I have already seen some indications of that happening.

I'm sure. It's going to be hard to armor strip center type storefronts. That door is going to be a weak spot in any solution. Creating a barrier inside might slow them down.

There was a wave of this type of crime against jewelry and designer fashion stores in the Bay Area a couple years ago. It prompted stores and even cities to add pretty bollards or obstructions in shopping districts. Gun shops might be on the next tier of stores to have to add them.

Dunce wrote:There was a wave of this type of crime against jewelry and designer fashion stores in the Bay Area a couple years ago. It prompted stores and even cities to add pretty bollards or obstructions in shopping districts. Gun shops might be on the next tier of stores to have to add them.

The Houston gun store had bollards. They just backed up to them and attached a chain to the door handles.

My LGS has reinforced steel sliding doors that look like they were prison surplus. You'd need to rip the concrete out to get through it. At the very least, you'd think most businesses doing that sort of retail would have steel shutters.

My LGS is a standalone concrete building with no window and only 3 doors. The customer entrance is protected by big bollards to stop cars, and it has 3 layers. There are two regular glass doors, with an overhead door to roll down when the store is closed. I don't see any smash-n-grab happening there.

Maybe the guy should get better security cameras.

Quote at the end of the article:

“At some point these guns are probably going to be sold for profit,” Miller said.

Thanks Captain Obvious!

A double entry foyer with 2 doors at 90 degrees. The outside door should be parallel to the side walk and the inside door perpendicular to the side walk and facing a concrete wall. Then put ballards to protect the outside door and wall and a pull down metal door inside the second door with no easy attachment points. That would slow them down a lot.

Nothing is full proof, but that would probably make getting in so difficult the police would get there before they got in.

BKinzey wrote:Maybe the guy should get better security cameras.
....

I never understood why there isn't something like a really high resoluton game camera that takes photos based on motion or alarm. Then you'd get multiple high resoution photos you could blow up on top of your hours of grainy video.

sikacz wrote:

Elmo wrote:

sikacz wrote:On a serious note I'm wondering if media attention is encouraging this activity.

I thought about that too. It almost seems like a copycat crime of the Houston gun store break in.

I'm not sure if the media is to blame as much as YouTube posters -- including us!

We'll probably see more "armoring" of gun store storefronts, as well as jewelry stores, etc. I have already seen some indications of that happening.

I'm sure. It's going to be hard to armor strip center type storefronts. That door is going to be a weak spot in any solution. Creating a barrier inside might slow them down.

Location matters, too; I assume the surrounding area was really deserted? My local LGS is in a strip mall, but it is kind of on the main drag. Probably right about the copycat element.

inomaha wrote:

BKinzey wrote:Maybe the guy should get better security cameras.
....

I never understood why there isn't something like a really high resoluton game camera that takes photos based on motion or alarm. Then you'd get multiple high resoution photos you could blow up on top of your hours of grainy video.

There definitely are, you just have to pay for them. Better resolution security systems are getting better and better everyday. For this store I'm sure there is a much better system for a reasonable price.

If I can do this with a mid range hand held camera and some software, https://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=22 ... 9c1a3095ba, you would think a store could get at least one really clear photo of the people breaking in. Forget video and time lapse some decent quality photos every second or two for the actual 2 minutes you need.

That photo was a lower quality upload.

While the suggestions of better cameras are a good idea for security, quite a few people were very upset when San Francisco mandated that stores record gun and ammo purchases. That type of sentiment from a store's customer base might give them a reason to not have the high resolution camera with a strobe light next to it like some Walgreens have in bad neighborhoods.

I'm shocked these stores leave their firearms out over night. My LGS removes the trays from the cases and locks them in a safe at night. Not sure how secure of one, but more secure than a glass box.

BKinzey wrote:Maybe the guy should get better security cameras.

Quote at the end of the article:

“At some point these guns are probably going to be sold for profit,” Miller said.

Thanks Captain Obvious!

Thanks... I needed a LOL today.

BKinzey wrote:Maybe the guy should get better security cameras.

Quote at the end of the article:

“At some point these guns are probably going to be sold for profit,” Miller said.

Thanks Captain Obvious!

Strange choice of words by Officer Miller.

Since the thieves paid nothing for them, anything they sell them for is "profit", more or less.

Well they did have expenses. Gasoline, hoodies, a can of spray paint for the back bumper.