TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — On Camino Seco just south of Broadway, the roadway was cut off for traffic for a lot of Monday morning because police had a report of intruders in a gun store near there.
At first Tucson Police simply warned the public away from the area because parts of Camino Seco were closed during morning rush hour.
But at the site Tucson Police turned out in force. The SWAT team deployed at Elite Guns and Ammo, in a business center about a block south of Broadway. Police say their first information was that suspects were still inside the shop. After several hours they determined the suspects left before officers arrived.
Police reopened Camino Seco shortly after 11am.
Police detectives and agents from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms stayed on scene for a follow up investigation.
The high value of guns on the street makes gun shops tempting targets.
This is the second hit we know of on a local gun related business in the past few months.
This summer, surveillance caught burglars breaking into Riton Optics, including images of a man trying to shoot out the surveillance camera that was taking his picture.
In 2023 the company’s cameras caught burglars breaking a glass door and stepping in.
Riton makes scopes and gun sights but had a few guns in the shop for testing products. The company says in the most recent burglary it lost about 40 thousand dollars in stolen items.
Surveillance helped police arrest a suspect in that latest break in. He was released on 25 hundred dollars bond while his case moves through the courts.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
