Gwinnett County

Firefighters' cars broken into while fighting fires

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Thieves broke into cars at four fire stations in Gwinnett County overnight.

Channel 2's Rikki Klaus learned firefighters did not discover the break-ins until Sunday morning.

One firefighter told Klaus that his gun was stolen out of his truck at the station in Norcross. He said they were working a fire and when they got back around 7 a.m., police filled the parking lot.

A Gwinnett County Fire spokesman said the thieves broke into cars and stole items from fire stations 5, 31, 15 and 23 overnight.

Gwinnett Fire Station 23 in Norcross

“We're encouraging crews to keep a vigilant watch on their parking lot, all hours of the night and day,” said Gwinnett fire spokesperson Tommy Rutledge. “We’ve asked police departments in our jurisdictions to step up patrols in our parking lot, and it was again that very extra patrol, that thwarted a vehicle break-in at this fire station.”

Rutledge said last Monday, thieves targeted stations 9 and 21, in Lawrenceville and Suwannee. He said the thieves stole at least one gun from the previous incident.

If anyone has any information to share in this case, please contact GCPD detectives at 770-513-5300. To remain anonymous, tipsters should contact Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or visit www.crimestoppersatlanta.org. You can also text your tip to “Crimes” (274637). Crime Stoppers tipsters can receive up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest and indictment in this case.