JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman told the police that the three teens accused of stealing guns from her Mandarin home broke into her closet that’s equipped with a fingerprint-locking system.
News4JAX Crime Analyst Tom Hackney said many criminals break into homes and don’t even look at your electronics or expensive items. They’re there specifically for your gun if they know you have one.
Lynn MacEwen, who has lived in the area for 30 years said she seldom hears about crime.
“That would be a surprise, but the way things are going in today generally it seems that’s more a problem than ever before,” MacEwen said.
Hackney said when stolen guns are found, they’re hard to trace. He added that it’s critical for parents to tell their children not to tell friends if there’s a gun in their home.
“It leads to the prying ears paying attention,” Hackney said. “It really shouldn’t be something that kids should share with others about just because of circumstances like this and you never know.”
The police report said there were pry marks on the door equipped with fingerprint locks. Hackney said unless you have a backup key, brute force is the only option to get in.
Fortunately, nothing happened at the schools and News4JAX is yet to hear from police if they’ve made an arrest. They’ve only reported that the suspects went to two large Jacksonville schools.