Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said firearms usually are stolen from unlocked cars.
“The people doing the stealing are criminals,” he said. “They are probably people who cannot legally own firearms so nobody wants them to have guns.”
Gun theft numbers
Between Jan. 1, 2021, and late June 2024, Dayton police recorded about 982 gun thefts, according to police data. About 375 of those incidents were gun thefts from vehicles (38%).
Gun thefts are fairly common. Last year, there were about 7,200 guns entered as stolen statewide into the Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS), according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which operates the system.
Thieves often rummage through cars and trucks looking for items of value to keep, sell, pawn or trade for drugs.
Some thieves smash car windows or jimmy locks to steal the valuables inside. But many search for vehicles with unlocked doors so they can get in with little effort and little noise.
Guns are one of the more valuable items that people sometimes keep inside their vehicles. Firearms can sell for hundreds of dollars or more on the street or the black market.
A 2019 Justice Department study found that 43% of criminals convicted of gun crimes got them from the black market or on the street, and 10% stole the weapons.
Cars a main target
Cars are now the leading source of gun thefts across the nation, says Everytown, a gun safety group.
Everytown says that more than half of gun thefts were from cars in 2022. A decade prior, only about a quarter of firearm thefts were from automobiles.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
According to Everytown, Dayton in 2022 had the 71st highest rate of gun theft incidents per capita. Everytown analyzed FBI crime data for more than 330 cities across 44 states.
Police reports and court records show that some guns that have gone missing were left in glove compartments and center consoles. Some people leave their guns on or under their seats.
Law enforcement agencies say stolen guns are a public safety threat because they are more likely to be used in crimes and they are hard to trace.
Authorities can trace firearms to their manufacturer and point of retail sale using their serial number, make and model.
But when guns are stolen, there’s often no forensic trail. Basically they could be in anyone’s possession, including people who are not legally allowed to have firearms because of criminal records or a history of violence.
Even police officers have had weapons stolen out of their cars.
Former Dayton police Chief Richard Biehl had his service pistol stolen from his vehicle in 2017. Two years later, a Dayton police officer had his pistol and his badge stolen out of his truck that was parked in his driveway.
A handgun stolen out of a law enforcement officer’s vehicle in late 2019 was used in a shooting on Ethel Avenue in Dayton that left one person dead, according to court records from the Second District Court of Appeals. This newspaper could not immediately confirm which police agency the officer worked for.
Safe storage crucial
Rieck agreed that firearm thefts from vehicles seem to be a growing problem across the country. He said thieves usually look for unlocked cars so they can get in easily and quickly.
“Generally, thieves are looking for opportunity,” he said. “They’re not looking to break into a car, they are not looking to spend time trying to get in ... they want a fast in and out.”
Rieck said locking the car doors is the first step.
He said gun owners should consider hiding their firearms in their trunks or in places where they are not visible through the car windows.
“That would stop most theft,” he said.
Rieck also said people who want to keep a firearm in their vehicle can acquire safes and lockboxes to secure the weapons. Devices can be bolted to the inside of the cab.
Rieck said in general he recommends that gun owners carry their firearms in a holster on their person, partly to minimize handling of the weapon, which is a safety concern.
Some firearm owners have decals and bumper stickers advertising their support of the NRA, the Second Amendment or their passion for firearms, Rieck said. This can broadcast to thieves that a gun might be inside the vehicle.
Everytown and other gun safety organizations say there are gun safes that work with every make and model of vehicle. Everytown supports legislation that requires guns to be securely stored and not visible when left in unattended vehicles.
The Buckeye Firearms Association opposes these kinds of laws. Rieck said the association supports safe storage practices but opposes legal mandates.
“We don’t want the government telling people what to do with their firearms or what they have to buy,” he said. “Those regulations may turn innocent people into criminals.”
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