Live video monitoring might have prevented three men from making off with all the weapons they could carry last year at a gun store in Coweta County, Georgia. It happened in the early morning. The smash and grab gang backed a Honda Accord through the front door, grabbed about thirty rifles, and made their getaway less than a minute later.
They didn’t go far, though. They ditched their stolen Honda in the industrial park immediately behind the gun shop, gathered up their stolen rifles, and made their way on foot into nearby woods. It’s believed they may have been heading toward a getaway car waiting on the nearby interstate. Police officers responding to the alarm were only twenty seconds behind the thieves, but that was apparently plenty of time for the gang to completely disappear.
The store owner was surprised by the smash and grab gun store attack. He believed his store was properly protected with a video surveillance system, redundant security alarms, and barred windows. Police responded quickly. Recorded surveillance captured the smash and grab gun store attack thieves. But it was all totally inadequate.
The police were so close, yet still frustratingly out of sight of the thieves who were well on their way to an unseen escape with $70,000 worth of weaponry. The stolen weapons included 22-caliber and sporting rifles, along with some AR-15s which the owner believes will bring the brazen thieves high prices in states where they are banned. The ultimate toll of this crime may be far higher, yet less obvious, than the lost inventory, broken glass and smashed displays with which the owner and his staff were left to deal.
The incident revealed huge gaps in security. The alarms sounded after the store had been broken into. By then it was too late to warn the criminals away. The video showed the criminals wore hoods and masks. There was no video coverage at the industrial park where the thieves abandoned their stolen vehicle. So the video could not be used to identify the criminals.
This store was not a client of Stealth Monitoring.
Stealth Monitoring is a security industry leader in live video surveillance with over 9,000 video cameras watched nationwide. Stealth proactive video monitoring can detect and deter crime in
cities in the U.S. and Canada while reducing security guard and other expenses. Stealth’s virtual security guard service can reduce or even replace security guards at a fraction of the cost. A remote surveillance Stealth operator can see unusual activity with the Honda, activate a speaker warning to deter thieves, and call the local police.
Please contact Stealth today for more information to protect your business. Visit our web site to see actual videos of criminals being apprehended at a range of commercial businesses.
