Break-in occurred at Southern Armory!
CRESTWOOD • Masked thieves broke into a Crestwood gun shop and stole rifles early Monday, then fired shots at a worker at a nearby business who saw them do it.
The worker at the neighboring business, Harbor Freight Tools, was on the phone calling 911 when bullets punctured store glass. One bullet hit a computer screen. The shots came within five feet of the worker, a manager at the tools store said.
No one was hit by the gunfire. Crestwood police are looking for the three thieves but say they have no good descriptions or license plate information on the getaway car.
Crestwood Police Chief Frank Arnoldy said three people wearing masks and gloves broke into Southern Armory at about 2:30 a.m. Monday. The shop is at 9901 Watson Road. The thieves got in by shattering storefront glass.
“They brought their own rocks,” Arnoldy said.
They took several rifles. As they came out of the store, they noticed employees at the adjacent Harbor Freight store watching them. They fired four shots at them, hitting the building but none of the people, Arnoldy said.
The burglars sped off in a small car.
Arnoldy said this is the only gun shop in Crestwood and he said he’s unaware of any previous burglaries there. A woman who answered the phone at Southern Armory declined comment.
This is the latest burglary of a gun shop in the St. Louis area. About two weeks ago, gun shops in Arnold and Valley Park were hit. Another one may have been burglarized Monday morning in the High Ridge area of Jefferson County. No one from that police agency was immediately available for comment.
“It seems to be an ongoing pattern in the region,” Arnoldy said. “The businesses apparently do everything they can to secure (the guns), and they still get them.”
“Most of all of these gun stores do a really proficient job of keeping people out. But there are still times those things get defeated.”
The manager at Harbor Freight Tools, who asked that his name be withheld, said his business is about 50 yards away from the gun shop. It usually is a quiet area, he said. One worker who saw the theft picked up the phone to call police. Thieves looked through the window and saw him on the phone, the manager said.
“They looked in and saw him trying to call 911,” the manager said. “They fired at the worker on the phone. Four shots went through windows. One hit a computer screen.
“He dropped to the floor and started yelling for other…