Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Taken during the service

…on Sunday morning at Indian Hills Community Church, from a Honda Civic parked in the lot, with the windows open slightly for ventilation—no sign of forced entry: one .223 caliber Panther Arms DPMS rifle, collapsible stock, 30-round magazine and one Blackberry. Same model as the rifle stolen along with this pickup a few months ago, and the rifles stolen in the burglary at Scheel’s a couple of years ago. I hate it when good weapons like this fall into criminals’ hands.

22 comments:

Dave said...

Wow! Sounds like someone is getting ready to start a war.

I can't believe the stupidity of some people though, I just heard a call for a couple of shotguns missing out of a garage. To me, the garage wouldn't exactly be the safest place to store weapons, since most people never lock the garage.

Maybe LPD should do a PSA about where the safest place to store weapons is. Hint: It's not under a blanket in a pickup or the garage.

Anonymous said...

How about LPD duty pistols left in duffel bags underneath bus stop benches downtown?

Anonymous said...

I'm sure someone stole it to go hunting.

Tom Casady said...

8:21

Point?

Anonymous said...

I think the point is fairly obvious. By the way, the rifle in the linked image is chambered for .308, not .223.

Anonymous said...

Is church so scary that one must take a rifle and 30 rounds of ammo?
I know, I know...the point is it was stolen. My wish is that only police officers could carry weapons.

Anonymous said...

I have been pushing for a mandatory 20 year sentence for anyone convicted of stealing a firearm.

I have written several letters to various legislators but so far no luck. Maybe if our lawmakers were swamped with letters and phone calls demanding this we could get it passed.

At the same time we need legislation on a national level establishing a list of ALL stolen firearms that could be accessed by the public, free of charge, to let potential purchasers in private firearms sales know that they are buying a LEGAL weapon.

Gun Nut

ARRRRG!!!! said...

I don't leave my guns in the car.

Anonymous said...

September 2, 2009 10:03 AM:
I missed the point too. Please explain for those of us with slower brain function.
September 2, 2009 6:52 AM:
I do not want to sound like Grover and the infamous "build a sentance" on Sesame Street, but a single word leaves much to desire.

Grundle King said...

Thoughts on what's been said by others so far.

7:55...the PSA would only tell criminals where to look for weapons once they're in the home.

8:56...I'm sure your comment is meant to imply that these guns aren't necessary for hunting, and therefore should be outlawed...but I think you'll find that the 2nd Amendment doesn't protect the right to hunt.

10:15...my wish is that a magical unicorn would come fill my gas tank for free every day. The difference between us is that, while both wishes are unrealistic, I have given up on mine because I recognize reality.

Tom Casady said...

10:52-

There's no indication that the victim took his rifle to church for a purpose, only that it was in the backseat of his car when he parked it there. And there was no ammo in the vehicle--just the rifle with an empty magazine (and the unloaded Blackberry).

Grundle King-

Please send the unicorn my way.

Steve said...

Chief:

Were any other vehicles burlarized at that place and time? I ask because I wonder if someone knew where to find what they were looking to steal. Perhaps the thief either knew the victim in some way, or the presence of the weapon was somehow obvious, such as having a "Protected by Smith and Wesson" window sticker.

I'm not making any excuses for the thief or accusations against the victim. I'm just curious.

Anonymous said...

I have an email about my spelling. In my prior comment,the word "sentence" was mispelled on purpose.

Tom Casady said...

Steve-

No, no others in the area at all. Probably someone window shopping during Church--although there is "roving security" at this Church. We've had 19 larcenies from auto from Church parking lots this year. By way of comparison, 11 at hospitals, 23 at restaurants, 57 at parks, and 409 at apartment complexes.

Anonymous said...

Why on EARTH would that weapon be sitting in a car in the first place? I mis spoke, why on EARTH would ANYONE feel they need to even OWN a gun like that in the first place?
Not to mention that if there was no forced entry, I am assuming the car was unlocked?

Trevor said...

Police in one UK city did an interesting promotional campaign for vehicle thefts: officers would check on vehicles for signs of being an obvious target and notify careless owners. High-value items were "stolen" for later pick-up with the local police.

Anonymous said...

The owner shouldn't have left that rifle in the car. Now the pawn shops will have something that they pay the thief $100 for so they can try to sell the $900 rifle for $2000.

A rifle like that has no business being left in the car, it should have been inside protecting the congregation :-)

Cedric Satterfield said...

Anonymous 2:17 pm- Its a .223...a glorified 22 caliber rifle. Put into the hands (with a selector switch) of thousands of kids every year as young as 17 at Basic Training. This rifle is the same caliber as what I used to hunt squirrels and rats on our farm 20 years ago. Just because it has a collapsible stock and a *OMG* 30 round magazine doesn't make it any more dangerous than any other weapon. 1 placed shot is all it takes, and my .50 cal muzzle loader will make a much larger hole.

Anonymous said...

Don't give up the muzzle loader secret Zen. If the libs have their way that's all we will have left.

Cedric Satterfield said...

SHhhhh.......im a veteran, gun owning liberal! ;-)

Steve said...

2:17 P.M.

Why on earth would you feel you need to own a computer? There is certainly no necessity for you to read or comment on the Chief's Corner.

It's a tool, or a toy, depending on how you want to use it, just like a computer, a camera, or a cell phone.

Anonymous said...

Zen, Your user profile says you are a registered Independent.