Police urge residents to remove guns from cars after spike in burglaries
Uptick in unlocked car gun thefts
Bradenton police said the number of guns stolen from unlocked cars is up 95% in the city, and in Madeira Beach, Pinellas County deputies are noticing unlocked cars becoming recent targets. Briona Arradondo reports.
BRADENTON, Fla. - Bradenton police said the number of guns stolen from unlocked cars is up 95% in the city, and in Madeira Beach, Pinellas County deputies are noticing unlocked cars becoming recent targets.
Locking your car door should be a simple act.
One of the robberies caught on home surveillance cameras.
"It’s a quick little push button, so I always remember. But I’m also from New York, and it’s a habit. So, it’s a built-in habit for us to do that," said Kayel Buffaline, a Bradenton resident.
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Dig deeper:
Not enough people in the Tampa Bay area remember to do that. Bradenton police reported 279 car burglaries in 2024, up from 269 in 2023.
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Many of the crimes are caught on home surveillance cameras.
"They’re masked up, they’re gloved up. They walk up. They pull the door handle. If the car’s locked, they move on to the next one. They can cover an entire street in a matter of minutes," said Capt. Brian Thiers of the Bradenton Police Department.
The backstory:
The police said criminals get the goods from cars in about 30 seconds or less.
"Different time frames, different MOs, so we don’t believe that they’re connected. It could be different people, but that’s what we’re working on. That’s what our detectives are really good at," said Thiers. "They’re reviewing video, they’re processing any evidence. They’re doing touch DNA on everything they can to try and stop this from happening."
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Thiers said 37 guns were stolen from the hundreds of unlocked cars burglarized in 2024, and that is up from 19 in 2023. Police said that is a 95% jump in Bradenton.
One of the burglaries caught on home surveillance cameras.
"We say it a lot. But I don’t feel like the message is getting conveyed well enough. Stop leaving expensive items in your car. Take your laptop and your jewelry and your gun out of your vehicle and lock your car," said Thiers.
They aren’t the only ones. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said seven unlocked cars were hit in a Madeira Beach neighborhood overnight on Feb. 8 along North Bayshore Drive, Bay Point Drive, Sunset Cove, and Cove Drive.
Thieves ended up with three firearms, ammunition, $5,000 worth of tools, and even someone’s pickup truck because they left the keys inside.
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Deputies said the truck was eventually recovered.
"The guns oftentimes turn back up, either used in a crime or taken off of a criminal that is returned stolen," said Thiers.
Why you should care:
And that should concern everyone.
"That’s scary. That’s the scary part, because now they have your firearm that could cause who knows what kind of damage to somebody or something, right?" said Buffaline.
One of the burglaries caught on home surveillance cameras.
What you can do:
Police said it’s best practice to remove your gun from your car and store it safely.
Officers are urging people to stop making the crime of opportunity easy for criminals in their neighborhoods.
The Source: FOX 13's Briona Arradondo collected the information in this story.
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