The community in a suburban Philadelphia community joined police in offering a reward in hopes of tracking down the people who stole 19 firearms during a smash-and-grab gun shop heist.
Collingdale Police joined unidentified businesses in offering the $2,500 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the thieves that hit up the Suburban Armory in Delaware County Thursday morning.
A crew of burglars -- three or four men -- smashed their way into The Suburban Armory at 1000 MacDade Boulevard in Collingdale around 4 a.m. Thursday and stole more than one dozen handguns and revolvers, Collingdale Police Chief Robert Adams said.
The men smashed a large front window to get inside and made their way to a gun counter, climbed on top and jumped up and down until the reinforced glass broke, Adams said. They then snatched the weapons and tried to steal rifles, but couldn't get them loose from a security cable.
"There's 18 weapons on the street now. That's pretty severe," Adams said. "One gun is bad enough, but 18, that's 18 guns that are in the hands of somebody that shouldn't have them."
The ATF later upped the gun total to 19.
The entire heist was carried out in two minutes, surveillance video showed. Cameras caught two cars leaving the scene after the crime — a cream colored, older model sedan and a burgundy Pontiac minivan. A witness was able to get a partial plate of "Y-Z" from the minivan.
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Anyone with information on the thieves is asked to contact Collingdale Police at 610-586-0502, ATF at 1-800-ATF-GUNS or the Delaware County CID at 610-891-4700.
