Athens-Clarke County Police are looking for five men who drove a stolen Jeep into the Athens Gun Club early Sunday morning.
The surveillance video below shows a red 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee smashing through the front door at around 4:30 a.m. They run through the store grabbing long guns and pistols. It is unclear exactly how many firearms were stolen.
https://youtu.be/qFxbIl9OTlA
Employees of the gun range declined to comment because they want to let the investigation run its course. However, one employee said that after the burglars crashed through the wall, they were in and out in about 45 seconds.
Only one man is seen in the video below without a mask.
https://youtu.be/nVG4ul7sJuI
The men left the Jeep inside of the store and fled the scene in a newer model white Audi with a sunroof, as seen in this picture.
Contact ACCPD With Information
“Any time offenders would break into a gun store and steal weapons is very concerning to us because the nature of this… these are weapons. They can be used for other crimes and so we are concerned. We hope to locate them as soon as possible,” said Geoffrey Gilland, public information officer of the ACCPD.
Police are still actively investigating the burglary. Detectives with the ACCPD are asking anyone who has any information about the incident to contact the police department. Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.
Sarah Hammond is a senior journalism major in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
