ST. LOUIS COUNTY – The St. Louis ATF and the National Shooting Sports Foundation are offering rewards for information in connection with a series or gun shop burglaries.
The two organizations said they are each offering $5,000 for a total possible reward of $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-ATF-GUNS.
According to Benjamin Granda, a spokesperson for the St. Louis County Police Department, officers responded to Triple Threat Armory on Gravois Road just after 2 a.m. Friday for the report of a burglar alarm going off.
Once on scene, police found the front window shattered and said the business had been burglarized, but officers say no firearms were taken.
"This is the second time for us in four months. It's almost like a deja vu," said Scott Stephan, owner of Triple Threat Armory.
He said the thieves were unable to take guns because they lock them up every night, after closing the store.
About an hour later, officers responded to another burglar alarm at On Target on Vance Road. Granda says that business was also burglarized and 15 firearms were taken. Fourteen of those were handguns and one was a shotgun.
Phyllis Curry fears the guns stolen from On Target are going to end up on the street and used for senseless violence.
"If they broke into the store, they are going to be used for something not worthy or sold to somebody that's going to use them in a not so good manner," she said.
Curry lost her son DeAnthony Curry in August 2016. He was gunned down on Page and Union. It was almost a month after he celebrated his 22nd birthday.
"My children are supposed to bury me, I'm not supposed to bury my children," Curry said. "I shouldn't have to go through this. No one should have to go through losing their child."
A wall in her house covered with pictures is all she has left.
"Because he is not going to walk in that door anymore. He's gone," she said.
Since her son's death, Curry has found she shares the same heartache as many other parents.
"I have seen many mothers grieve. I don't want to see any mothers grieve," Curry said.
For her, the stolen guns mean more guns on the street which could lead to more people killed and more mothers grieving.
"Who are going to get those weapons. We don't know,” she said
The St. Louis County Police Department's Bureau of Crimes Against Property is investigating the burglaries.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the St. Louis County Police Department at (636) 529-8210 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS.
