Forsyth County

Thieves smash into pawn shop, steal nearly 60 guns

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Atlanta office for the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives tells Channel 2 Action News that Georgia leads the country in the number of gun shop burglaries and stolen firearms.

Last year more than 1,000 guns were stolen in Georgia.

Nationwide in the past five years, the number of stolen weapons is up 72 percent.

'It's frightening. Often times they're used in crimes, trafficked and mostly go to other criminals," said ATF Atlanta agent Nero Priester.

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Priester told Channel 2's Tom Regan more guns are stolen in Georgia because it has a large number of gun dealers, around 2,000.

The most recent gun theft happened early Friday morning at Forsyth County Pawn in Cumming.

Security camera video shows five masked men breaking through a glass front door and ransacking the store.

Investigators say 59 guns and rifles were stolen.

"They were in and out in 1 minute and 25 seconds. We believe they may have cased the store first," said Cumming Deputy Police Chief Althea Barrett.

Barrett said her department is working with the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office and the ATF to capture the burglars. The ATF is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.