The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), in conjunction with the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), is offering up to $10,000 for information about the perpetrators in last week’s break-in at a Middletown gun store.
Authorities say at least three individuals broke into Middletown Firearms — a federal firearm licensee — in the early hours of Oct. 28, while a fourth is believed to have waited outside the Main Street store as a lookout. Fourteen guns were stolen, according to owner Travis Dodson, who arrived at the business shortly after the building’s alarm system woke him up at 3:35 a.m. The perpetrators left behind a running vehicle.
According to an ATF release, anyone with “information leading to the arrest and conviction for those responsible for the theft of firearms from Middletown Firearms” is eligible to receive up to $5,000 from ATF, which will be matched by the NSSF as part of an initiative between the two agencies to curtail gun thefts from federally licensed firearm retailers. The total reward could be up to $10,000.
“ATF works closely with local law enforcement partners and members of the firearms industry to curb the criminal acquisition and misuse of firearms,” ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge James VanVliet said in the release.
The thieves used a white Kia Soul reportedly stolen out of Maryland to back into the store’s door before making their way inside, according to the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office. Security footage shows three people entering the building wearing face covers and holding bags.
Dodson said the burglars also were wearing gloves and holding hammers, and that it was “very hard to see their faces.”
The 14 stolen guns were valued at $8,300, Dodson said. The burglars also damaged more than $22,000 worth of new, consignment and used guns inside the store.
Although the release indicates 16 guns were stolen, a Middletown Firearms employee confirmed on Monday that 14 is the correct number. “[The ATF] initially did a report saying 16 but I found that two that they said had been stolen were in spots in the shop that they did not look and I put my physical hands on them and verified the serial number,” said the employee, who wished to remain anonymous.
Despite significant damage to the store, Middletown Firearms reopened Thursday. The employee said burglaries like this “are not an uncommon thing in the industry” and that the best thing the store can do is to “keep chugging along.”
“What we need the most right now is business. If someone has, you know, $20 to go ahead and buy some ammo, that helps out in the long run,” he said.
Anyone with information about the break-in can contact ATF at 888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477) or the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office 540-664-3669, reference case number 24005781. Information also can be sent to ATFTips@atf.gov or through ATF’s website at www.atf.gov/contact/atftips. The release states that tips can be submitted anonymously using the Reportit® app, which is available from both Google Play and the Apple App store, or by visiting www.reportit.com.
Frederick County Sheriff Lenny Millholland told The Winchester Star on Monday that he could not provide an update on the investigation. ATF could not be reached for comment.