BEECH GROVE, Ind. — Police and the ATF are searching for a trio of thieves who used a carjacked SUV to break into Beech Grove Firearms over the weekend and steal nearly 50 guns.
The brazen burglary was captured on the shop's security cameras.
"They gave it hell to get in here," said Beech Grove Firearms owner Greg Burge. "It wasn't simple, but they were determined."
The video shows crooks using a stolen SUV like a battering ram just after 3 a.m. Sunday. After four hits, the Honda Ridgeline busted between concrete bollards at the front door and barreled right into the gun store.
"They basically took a size 11 foot and crammed it in a size 8 boot," Burge said. "You know, the damage speaks for itself."
He said the crime did about $60,000 in damage to the building. An estimated $30,000 worth of guns are now gone.
Burge believes the burglars had likely been in the store before to case the place. They're checking earlier surveillance video to see if they can spot the thieves.
He said they clearly knew the security and knew what they were after: no rifles, just handguns.
"I walk into your house, I don't know where the TV remote is. They walked into mine and knew exactly where it was at. There was no question. They just ... boom, bam," Burge said. "The smash-and-grab classic and they pulled it off. They crawl under. They go right to these two cases that you can see the damage. The leader of the pack, he has the hammer. He starts busting the stuff."
Once they got inside, the trio took 48 guns in 40 seconds.
Burge said silencers were possibly stolen, too, before the thieves ran off to a second getaway car.
"We've got 48 guns that are now scattered like Skittles," Burge said. "So God only knows where they have gone. That, too, weighs on me."
The Beech Grove Police Department, IMPD and the ATF are all now investigating.
We do know that the SUV used in the break-in was carjacked less than an hour earlier, from a couple at a mobile home park near Washington Street and Shadeland Avenue on the east side of Indianapolis.
A police report shows officers arrested a 16-year-old boy for armed robbery in connection with the carjacking.
Back at Beech Grove Firearms, the ATF is auditing all the merchandise and repairs are underway.
Burge, who spent 30 years in law enforcement, now finds himself in the role of victim. He wants justice and the crooks caught.
"I sell a legal item," Burge said. "These criminals have now made it a tool of their trade."
They hope to reopen the store by Thursday with some reinforced and perhaps reconfigured barriers. They already had extensive security at the shop. In fact, Burge said this is the first time in 15 years somebody breached it.
If you have information that could help investigators, contact the Beech Grove Police Department.