LAKELAND, Fla. – Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said he wants a local firearm store to enhance its security measures after the shop was burglarized for a second time over the weekend.
Two people broke the front door lock of Guns Galore around 4 a.m. Sunday and stole at least 46 guns from a glass case, deputies said. The store has no surveillance video of the incident, only security footage taken from outside that shows a car driving away.
Guns Galore was also burglarized on Christmas Eve, and12 guns were stolen during that incident, according to a news release.
Judd said the store has made no significant improvements since then to prevent break-ins.
"We know that determined thieves are capable of going to extraordinary lengths to separate hard working people from their hard earned property — and the fundamental responsibility of this theft (and others) lies with the thieves who committed the crime," Judd said in a statement. "But there must be a special public safety obligation on the part of gun store owners to harden gun stores from theft."
Judd noted that stolen firearms are often trafficked and then used in other crimes.
Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to call Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS.