Thieves Steal Trove of SWAT Team Guns

Los Angeles police left weapons at training site
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 17, 2011 2:48 PM CDT
Thieves Steal Trove of SWAT Team Guns
Los Angeles Police SWAT members walk along Hollywood Boulevard.   (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

The Los Angeles SWAT team has some serious egg on its face after thieves helped themselves to a cache of powerful guns the team left at a training site. While the building was seen as secure, it wasn't guarded, and thieves were able to cut through a series of locks and push past a roll gate, said the police department's deputy chief. The first officer to arrive discovered a stack of electrical equipment near the door, suggesting the thieves may have fled upon his arrival.

While the guns had been altered to use only blanks, they could be returned to their original state, the Los Angeles Times notes. "It's embarrassing ... It's a lesson learned," said the deputy chief. Under police rules, weapons aren't supposed to be left unwatched at the site. Other officers wondered why the guns, including submachine guns and handguns, weren't kept at SWAT's nearby headquarters. "Even with some locked doors, they should have seen this as a possibility," said one. (More Los Angeles Police Department stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X