ATF Predicts 500 Gun Store Robberies During 2016

Gun store owners may want to worry; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) projected that there will be more than 500 gun store robberies by the year’s end.

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The prediction is based on the dramatic increase in gun store burglaries in recent years. Between 2013 and 2015, gun store burglaries shot up by 28 percent. During that time more than 12,000 weapons were stolen.

According to the ATF, Charlotte, North Carolina, has suffered the most. Back in late October, officials said that more than 420 guns had been stolen in the Charlotte area this year alone. The number has likely gone up since then.

Atlanta, Georgia, comes in second as the worst area for gun store robberies. However, it is important to note that this is a problem plaguing every state. Earlier this month, more than 50 guns were stolen from a gun shop in Rochester, Indiana.

The bureau did not mention how many stolen guns those 500 burglaries might equate to.

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