U.S. Army Has Nearly 30 Rifles Stolen

Jul 30, 2011 by James

The United States Army has had its fair share of goofs over the years but this one takes the cake. The army is now looking for assistance from the public to help recover 26 rifles including 25 AK-47′s and one Dragunov sniper rifle. The authorities recently made several arrests but only recovered one of the rifles that was stolen from a Fort Irwin supply warehouse. A $10,000 reward is being offered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) for information on the July 15 heist. The army nor the authorities have stated how the rifles were looted from the base.

The BATFE would not comment on whether the suspects were military, civilian or what their motives may have been and deferred all questions to the military who have had no comment as of yet. The BATFE, who has recently come under fire for a gun running program, also declined to comment on why it took nearly two weeks for the information to become public. According to the BATFE’s statement the reason for the press release is the safety of the people so why are they releasing it now?

We determined that there was a public safety issue with the guns getting out on the street, ATF Special Agent in Charge John A. Torres said in the statement.

Multiple agencies are working on the recovery of the stolen firearms including the FBI and Army CID (Criminal Investigations Division) according to the BATFE but they feel that involving the community will yield faster results considering the potential danger these weapons pose.

“Community participation is necessary to improve the likelihood that ATF and our law enforcement partners will track down the firearms as well as the criminals who have sought to destabilize our community through illegal activity,” ATF Special Agent in Charge John A. Torres said in the statement.

Fort Irwin is a large military base located in Southern California so it is likely that the weapons have already made there way across the border. It still remains unclear why the weapons were being stored potentially in an unsecured warehouse rather than an armory. The military seizes and then stores weapons, that are used by our enemies, on bases worldwide for training. That is how AK-47′s and the Dragunov were able to be taken but the likelihood that a civilian was able to walk away with them without inside help seems impossible.

This story is developing

Source: LA Times