At least 20 guns taken in the latest crime, in the series of Gun Store Burglaries In St. Charles County
O’FALLON, Mo. • Burglars broke into an O’Fallon, Mo., gun shop with a crowbar early Monday morning and stole at least 20 guns in the latest heist to target a firearms store in the metro area.
Authorities are probing whether at least three such burglaries in recent months are linked.
The thefts have gun store owners talking, according to the manager of one of the stores that was hit.
“We’re all trying to figure out what we can all do, but as far as security measures, most of us take it very seriously and have very serious security measures that we pay a lot for,” said Richard Brendle, manager at Eagle Eye USA Indoor Shooting Range & Gun Shop in Wentzville.
In the latest crime, burglars broke the glass of the front door to Eagle Armory in O’Fallon about 2:30 a.m. Monday, according to documents. Investigators from the ATF, O’Fallon police and St. Louis County police had determined that at least 20 firearms, including rifles and handguns were taken, according to documents.
The burglars may have used two Toyota Camrys in the crime. The store is near Interstate 70 west of Main Street.
Store employees declined to comment. The ATF and O’Fallon police did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.
Police in Wentzville are investigating the burglary at Eagle Eye USA and looking at possible links to the O’Fallon burglary and an earlier attempted heist at Cabela’s in Hazelwood. There are similarities between the crimes, but police declined to offer details. They declined to make surveillance images available.
In the Wentzville burglary, Eagle Eye USA was hit sometime after 11 p.m. on June 2, Brendle said. The store is near Interstate 70 just east of Interstate 64.
The store’s surveillance cameras captured a newer model Toyota Rav4. Three people wearing dark hoodies and shorts along with surgical masks to cover their faces emerged while the driver remained inside the vehicle, Brendle said.
They were able to bash through the store’s shatter-resistant windows using a large rock. Once inside, the thieves tried to destroy shatter-resistant cases containing handguns to no avail, but they did steal three rifles, Brendle said.
“They were in and out in three minutes,” he said. “We think they just got frazzled with the alarm going off and not being able to get into the cases.
“It takes a special kind of person to burglarize a gun store. And we’re one of the most fortified stores out there.”
In April, police apparently interrupted a burglary at the Cabela’s in Hazelwood after the criminals got a big U-Haul truck stuck on a curb. As the first officer arrived in response to an alarm about 3:10 a.m., two men jumped out of the U-Haul and ran, carrying rifles. Police tried to cordon off the area, at the St. Louis Outlet Mall off Highway 370. They searched for the men, but they escaped.
Authorities found the men had shattered the glass front door of the store. Police found eight rifles and several handguns inside the U-Haul.
Brendle said he hopes the public will do its part to help stop the crime. He said surveillance footage of the thefts at Eagle Eye showed cars driving by as the thieves were breaking in.
“If you see something that doesn’t look right, please call the police,” he said.
Anyone with information about the crimes can contact the ATF at 800-283-4867, email ATFTips@atf.gov, contact the ATF through its website at www.atf.gov/contact/atftips or text 63975 using the code ATFKC.