LOS ANGELES, CA – While police were holding the line during the protests following the death of George Floyd, more than 1000 firearms were stolen during burglaries from gun stores across the United States.
Did I mention that all 1039 firearms were stolen in one week? Yes, I said one week.
Between May 30th and June 6th, 2020 there were 1039 firearms stolen from gun stores and we heard almost nothing about this from the mainstream media.
Instead, every major news network showed us image after image of police officers in riot-gear. They also showed us burning buildings during the riots and protests following the death of George Floyd.
They made sure they told us all about the public wanting to “de-fund the police” and how policing needs “reform”.
I guess “stolen guns” doesn’t have the same buzz as “de-fund the police”.
For some reason though, we didn’t hear much about Richardson Tactical in Hayward California where 29 guns were stolen on May 31st , 2020.
The LA Times reported that approximately 30-40 people broke into the gun store and according to the company’s Facebook page, the firearms stolen were mostly Glock 22’s, AR-15’s and Beretta M9 Handguns. The ATF is offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the individuals responsible.
To those of you following the news, yes, we did get looted over night on Sunday May 31 2020.To reassure all of the…
Posted by Richardson Tactical LLC on Monday, June 1, 2020
In Fayetteville, NC alone they are investigating the thefts of at least 40 firearms during the looting that occurred during protests. The Fayetteville Observer reported that Fayetteville Police are working with the ATF to try and identify the people involved and recover some of the firearms.
“Sgt. Jeremy Strickland, a spokesman for the Fayetteville Police Department, said Friday that officials with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have been investigating the thefts this week.
In a statement Friday, the Police Department said that as of Thursday, at least 40 firearms were reported stolen.
‘This number will increase as business owners/managers continue to inventory their property,’ Strickland said in an email. ‘Some of the reported break-in reports are not publicly available yet, which will result in an increase in total number of firearm thefts once they are made public.’”
Next we have Chuck’s Firearms in Atlanta, Georgia. Chuck’s was broken into around 2:30 am Saturday morning May 30th, 2020 and the thieves made off with 42 firearms from this location. Fox Business reported this story and in this case a store employee was heading to the store as it was being looted.
“Jim Hinsdale, who owns Atlanta-based Chuck’s Firearms Inc., told FOX Business one of his employees was just minutes away from walking in on the shop being ransacked around 2:30 a.m. Saturday while protests and looting were taking place in the area, according to a press release from the ATF’s local office.”
.@ATFAtlanta and @NSSF need your help locating suspects who burglarized Chuck’s Firearms and stole 42 firearms. Contact 1-888-ATF-TIPS with info. Did you know you can report anonymously? pic.twitter.com/135wDcXLlP
— ATF Atlanta (@ATFAtlanta) June 2, 2020
A story published by Business Insider suggests that these burglaries were being done as all of us in law enforcement were distracted with protests and riots that were happening at the same time.
“The gun thefts were not related to the protests, the ATF said in Albuquerque and Dallas, but ‘exploited’ them. ATF spokeswoman April Langwell said ‘there were thefts away from the rioting. Those responsible could have been taking advantage of the opportunity.’
While police in riot gear kept their eyes on protesters demonstrating against police brutality and institutional racism, ATF data show burglars swept through gun stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.”
So after the dust settles we have 1039 firearms taken from 22 different states.
If what the ATF says is true and the people responsible for these crimes were NOT involved in the protests then I would ask again, why isn’t this story being blasted across major news networks?
Maybe because numbers like this show exactly why cutting police budgets and taking away tools we need to do our jobs would only make our society more vulnerable to crime. It would also show that there are criminals waiting in the wings to capitalize on a world where there are no police.
Here’s just how brazen criminals have gotten.
Earlier this month, we reported on a gun stolen right from a police vehicle in Connecticut.
DANIELSON, CT – Police in Connecticut dealt with numerous vehicular break-ins within Danielson and Killingly during the morning hours of July 4th.
Of the several vehicle break-ins that occurred, one was a Connecticut State Police cruiser – and CSP stated that a semi-automatic rifle, ammunition, police-issued vest with CSP identification patches and more were stolen.
A semi-automatic rifle and Connecticut State Police identification patches were among the items stolen from a state police cruiser early on July 4, according to police https://t.co/l2Cep1G4LC
— NBC Connecticut (@NBCConnecticut) July 6, 2020
CSP officials recently released detailed information with regard to the contents that were stolen from inside one of their cruisers on July 4th. What makes the list of stolen goods so concerning is that there were pilfered items that could afford someone an opportunity to possibly falsely present themselves as a CSP trooper.
According to the CSP, the following items were taken from the vehicle:
- A department issued semi-automatic rifle, listed as a Bushmaster XM15 with a serial number of L247509 (weapon itself was listed as being unloaded by officials)
- Ceramic plate holder protective vest, along with Velcro patches denoting CSP affiliation
- Raid jacket
- One container that carried 70 rounds of .45 and .223 caliber ammunition
- A police baton and holster
- One gas mask (without the bag)
- Rain coat
- Sweater
- A gasoline card
- A gun cleaning kit
Officials from the CSP noted that there is a possible suspect attributed to the case, and said the individual is driving a 2018 Audi Q5 with a Massachusetts license plate listed as 58VW87.
Police say that anyone with information on the case or suspect should contact Troop D with the CSP at 860-779-4900.
In other law enforcement news related to Connecticut, a young man found out the difference between free speech and articulated threats against police in late June.
While freedom of speech is a beautiful thing, verbal or written threats made against people are far from protected – as one local man from Sandy Hook, Connecticut recently found out.
Reports indicate that a man posted that he wanted to “kill a cop today” on Twitter on June 24th, and found himself arrested after making said post.
Alexander Hassinger – Source Twitter
Alexander Hassinger, who goes by the Twitter handle @forwearenothing, posted the following on Twitter that led to his arrest:
“Imma kill a cop today and when they ask me why i did it imma tell them he was acting nervous and looked at me wrong.”
Twitter screenshot of the now deleted post by Twitter
Apparently, a Twitter user based out of Virginia saw the offensive posting and promptly contacted authorities based out of Connecticut.
Police reports show that Hassinger was arrested by state police from his home located in Sandy Hook shortly after 5:00 p.m. on June 24th, mere hours after making the threatening post. Not long after Hassinger’s arrest, he was subsequently freed after posting a $10,000 bond.
Connecticut man arrested for Twitter threats: “Imma kill a cop today”, “break every one of these cops ribcages”
You’d think that the experience would have toned down the smug and arrogant antics of the accused, but apparently, he’s being rather nonchalant toward the whole matter based upon his subsequent posts detailing his arrest.
On the same day that Hassinger was arrested and bonded out, he posted the following on Twitter:
“i got arrested for a tweet y’all that’s wild.”
However, many online are trolling Hassinger for not employing enough common sense to have avoided using the platform to boisterously proclaim threats against law enforcement officers.
— DEATHCAP (@JasonVo69363901) June 26, 2020
In another tweet (from Hassinger’s now deleted Twitter account) following his disregard for the whole situation, Hassinger wrote the following:
“i was arrested today for essentially cyber bullying the police while Breonna Taylor’s murderers walk free.”
While the case of Breonna Taylor referenced in the tweet is a controversial subject with regard to the discourse ongoing throughout the country, the existence of a perceived injustice doesn’t somehow mean that other arrests for alleged criminal acts will be disregarded.
Some online are coming to the defense of Hassinger, clamoring about “free speech”, with other users pointing out that not all speech is “free speech.” One user replied to someone coming to Hassinger’s defense saying:
“There’s a difference between free speech and threatening to murder somebody.”
🤔 There’s a difference between free speech and threatening to murder somebody.
— DJ (@NCRCourier2281) June 27, 2020
The same individual who was adamantly defending Hassinger’s social media antics then pivoted to proclaiming that the tweet that led to his arrest was “an obvious joke.” This resulted in another response demonstrating a “what if the shoe was on the other foot” posing:
“dude got arrested for making a threat to murder people. If someone jokingly threatened to kill a black person on Twitter would you hold the same opinion?”
dude got arrested for making a threat to murder people. If someone jokingly threatened to kill a black person on Twitter would you hold the same opinion?
— DJ (@NCRCourier2281) June 27, 2020
Even Hassinger is trying to claim that his online post was nothing but satirical. In a post he put up the day following his arrest, he was criticizing the media coverage that he was getting over his online threats:
“’threatening’ and ‘disturbing’ are the key adjectives they are using to describe my satirical tweet but while we’re here what about the disturbing and actually threatening atrocities that the police have committed not only recently but for countless years before internet exposure.”
The fact of the matter is, whether Hassinger’s online post was an attempt at satire or not, it was clearly a post vying for attention (as every social media post is exactly that). In response, Hassinger certainly got himself quite a bit of attention, but it was perhaps not the kind he was hoping to receive.
Furthermore, it is hard to digest Hassinger’s online activity as just “satire” as in a previous post he stated “I wanna body slam and break every one of these cops ribcages” when sharing a video of an arrest enacted where officers detained a suspect.
Hassinger twitter post on wanting to break officers ribs
It is unclear what will come of the case and the time that Hassinger could be facing with regard to the incident that led to his arrest at this time. However, it brings to light a solid point to consider to genuinely think before you hit “post.”
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