For the second time in a week, a Tucson gun store has been burglarized by thieves who have used a vehicle to ram through the doors.
The latest incident occurred Thursday, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said.
The burglary happened at SNG Tactical, 3441 S. Palo Verde Road, north of East Ajo Way. Deputies responded to the scene just before 5 a.m., Angela Carrillo, a department spokesman, said later Thursday in a news briefing.
“What I can tell you is that there were an unknown number of suspects that entered through the door,” Carrillo said. “There was a vehicle used to ram the door, and we know that firearms were stolen.”
Carrillo said that rifles and handguns were stolen.
A vehicle was used to smash through the doors of SNG Tactical on Thursday, authorities say.
This makes the second gun store burglary in Pima County this week. On Monday, Oct. 5, a similar break-in at another Tucson gun store, Elite Guns and Ammo, on South Camino Seco near East Broadway. The case prompted a large-scale police response.
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Aaron Herman, the owner of Elite Guns and Ammo, said he called police after security cameras notified him of intruders. Three or four men broke into the shop after using a stolen SUV to smash through the door, he said.
Carrillo said there are still “lots of questions” about whether the two cases are connected, and that several agencies are on scene investigating the incident, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the Tucson Police Department.
“At this point, no confirmation that they are related, but they are looking into that possibility,” she said. “They're looking for surveillance videos, surveillance pictures, and trying to figure out if we can get a good description of these guys so that we can put it out in the media.”
“Anytime that there are firearms stolen, that's a concern for public safety in our community,” Carrillo said. “So we are doing what we can.”
