NC has more gun theft from gun shops than most states in America

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A few years ago, a group of 14 to 18-year-olds tried to break into Larry Hyatt’s family-owned gun shop. The adolescents had stolen a car and rammed it into the Family Dollar Store next door.

“They smashed right into the wrong building,” Hyatt said with a chuckle.

On their second attempt to break into the Hyatt Gun Shop, they were stymied by a large steel barrier that Hyatt had installed on the advice of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.

There are over 3,000 gun shops in North Carolina, more than in California, Georgia, and most states in the country. Not surprisingly, North Carolina ranks as one of the top states for gun theft from gun dealers.

“When there is a whole lot of gun sales happening in this state that can lead to an increased number of gun deaths,” said Dena King, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

King has made cracking down on the drivers of violent gun crime a priority of her office, including prosecuting those who steal firearms from gun shops.

“Anytime I think about an illegal firearm being on the street, transferring amongst people that can’t lawfully purchase those firearms— yes, it scares me,” said King.

While most gun thefts reported in North Carolina and across the country are from private gun owners, thefts from gun dealers still contribute to the rise in violent gun crime.

“Guns stolen from dealers often end up in criminals’ hands,” said Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Since 2013, over 3,300 guns have been stolen from gun shops in North Carolina.

These burglaries are happening throughout the Carolinas, not just in major cities, but also in rural areas where gun shops might not have the resources for proper security precautions.

There are no federal laws that require gun shops to implement security measures. However, in 2017 when North Carolina experienced more gun theft from gun shops than any state in the country, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives released a set of recommendations on how gun dealers should protect their inventory.

The list included installing alarm systems, security cameras, and protecting windows and doors from forced entry by using bars, grates, security film glass and roll-down security grates.

“Oftentimes it can be a case where you spend more protecting the merchandise than the value of the merchandise that was stolen,” said Mitch Hyatt, Larry Hyatt’s son who also works at the Hyatt Gun Shop.

Gun shop burglaries are quick and extreme. Authorities say thieves usually grab 10-20 firearms at a time.

The ATF only recovers about one-third of the guns stolen from gun shops.

Frequently these crimes are committed by juveniles, which makes prosecution more difficult, almost impossible from a federal perspective.

In Hyatt’s case, the teens who rammed into his shop were not prosecuted.

There have been 85 attempts to burglarize the Hyatt Gun Shop with no success since 1974.

“Anything that we can do to help keep the guns out of the criminals’ hands, we want to do,” said Hyatt.

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