What to Know
- Police said that someone rammed a truck into a New Castle, Delaware, gun shop early on May 27, 2024, before making off with several guns.
- Thieves with the flatbed truck "rammed the door of Millers gun shop the previous night, that's when all the weapons were stolen," New Castle County Police Senior Cpl. Richard Chambers said.
- County detectives and the ATF continued to search for the thieves and stolen weapons Tuesday.
A person called police after seeing a flatbed truck backed into to the front door of a longtime Delaware gun shop early on Memorial Day in what investigators said was a heist.
The theft at Millers Gun Center at West Jackson Avenue and U.S Route 13 in New Castle was reported around 1:50 a.m. on Monday, May 27, 2024, New Castle County police said.
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"While officers were enroute, a passerby called 911 to report that they witnessed a flatbed truck backed into the front door of the store," police wrote in a news release. "Officers arrived at the store and discovered the store had been broken into, several firearms had been taken and the truck was gone from the area."
As of Tuesday morning, a section of the brick side of the gun shop -- which dates back more than six decades -- was boarded up. That section where there was a door and the hours of the shop posted had been bashed in, leaving debris inside and outside the gun shop.
Gun shop owner Bob Miller told NBC10 that the store specializes in sport rifles and shotguns, but that mostly handguns were stolen.
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"It's a violation to all of us and it's obviously a public safety issue," Miller said.
The gun shop had two metal bars on the metal door and surveillance cameras.
"They must have backed into the building at a pretty hard pace, a fast speed to be able to break through," Miller said.
The store alarms also went off, alerting police to the heist, but by the time they arrived, the thieves were gone.
New Castle County Police Senior Cpl. Richard Chambers said Tuesday that investigators still didn't have a full inventory of items stolen from the scene. Miller said he didn't want to tell reporters how many guns were taken to not jeopardize the investigation. They also have not released any surveillance video of the heist.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the county's criminal investigations unit in searching for clues.
Investigators on Tuesday got a call that a flatbed truck believed to be used in the heist was found on the other side of U.S. Route 13, Chambers said.
The truck "rammed the door of Millers gun shop the previous night, that's when all the weapons were stolen," Chambers said.
Police could be seen surrounding the vehicle in a dry cleaners parking lot. Chambers said the truck was stolen from a Claymont warehouse off Interstate 95 -- about 11 miles away -- about 1 hour before the heist. The thieves cut through a fence and then smashed through the locked gate.
The flatbed truck was later towed away. It wasn't clear why it took more than 24 hours to track down the truck even though it was less than 100 yards away.
Chambers said county detectives were working "tirelessly" with the ATF to track down the thieves and stolen guns.
Police asked anyone with info to contact Detective Diksa at Dakota.Diksa@newcastlede.gov or (302)395-8030. Tips can also be sent to Delaware Crime Stoppers and the ATF online.
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