HOLLAND (WHTC -AM/FM) — Ottawa County Sheriff’s detectives are looking for four people who burglarized the Long Range Archery and Firearms, 2530 Van Ommen Drive, in Holland Township, according to Sgt. Derek Gerencer.
The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office responded to a burglary alarm just before 5 a.m. Sunday, July 14, 2019, and found evidence of the break-in and thefts.
An unidentified number of firearms were stolen by four suspects driving a dark-colored SUV, according to information gathered so far. This incident remains under investigation, and the Sheriff’s detectives are working with other agencies. Anyone with information is asked to contact Silent Observer at 1-877-88-SILENT or mosotips.com
Imperial Gunworx, 134 East Division St. in Sparta, security alarms sounded at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday, according to what the store owner told Fox17 news.
Another shop broken into on Sunday: Armory Valentine, at 3876 East Paris Ave. SE, in Grand Rapids was also burglarized. This shop specializes in cerakote firearms coatings, high-speed laser engraving and custom holsters.
This is the fourth signifcant gun theft in less than a week. On July 10, 2019, thieves took 23 guns from the Barracks 616 store in Cascade Township.
The Detroit office of the ATF and the National Shooting Sports Foundation are offering up to $5,000 in reward money for information related to the 616 Barracks theft.
Federal firearms licencees have been increasingly targeted by thieves, according to data collected by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Between 2014 and 2018, such thefts rose by 6 percent — but between 2017 and 2018, such thefts rose by 9 percent.
In 2018, 5,652 firearms were stolen during burglaries — that’s down 28 percent from the previous year. But the number of firearms stolen during robberies appears to be rising, with 329 reported nationally in 2018 — up by 14 percent from the 288 reported in 2017, a 14 percent increase.
