Local and federal authorities are offering a reward of up to $6,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of burglars who drove an SUV into an Athens gun shop last month and stole firearms.
The burglary occurred April 28 at the Athens Gun Club on Mill Center Boulevard, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a news release Friday.
Surveillance footage from the store shows several men arrive in a white Audi SUV. What appears to be an older model red Jeep Cherokee is then driven into the store as the burglars help themselves to rifles on shelves and handguns in cases.
Credit: Athens-Clarke County Police Department
Credit: Athens-Clarke County Police Department
ATF agents said 21 firearms were stolen during the break-in.
“We take this crime very seriously,” Special Agent Arthur Peralta said in the release. “These 21 firearms pose a potential danger to citizens, communities and quality of life.”
The ATF is offering a $2,500 reward, which is being matched by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, authorities said. Athens Crime Stoppers is putting up another $1,000 for information in the case, bringing the total to $6,000.
Anyone with information about the heist is asked to contact the ATF Gun Hotline at 1-800-283-4867 or send an email to ATFtips@atf.gov.
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