US

Gun Store Owner Puts His Truck On The Line To Stop Crooks

Atharv Chandel, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

An Arizona gun store owner has resorted to using his pickup truck as a barricade after two other gun stores in the area were broken into.

Two federally-licensed firearms dealers (FFLs) in Tucson, Arizona, had previously been hit in thefts, KVOA.com, a local TV station, reported. John Petrush, the owner of John’s Guns and Ammo in Tucson told the station that a local police officer recommended the measure since one of the shops targeted was located very near Petrush’s store.

“Knowing they didn’t use a vehicle the first time they robbed me, there’s still open areas,” Petrush told KVOA, adding that his store had been broken into several years earlier and he still carried a bullet from the incident.

 The suspects used a vehicle to ram into Elite Guns and Ammo on Oct. 5, where they stole multiple firearms, according to KVOA.com, an incident that had the store’s owner saying he was “done.”

 “I’d love to get rid of all of it and probably try to go out of business before the year’s out,” Aaron Herman told KVOA.com. The burglaries have drawn the attention of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade group for the firearms industry.

 “These crimes are especially concerning to NSSF. These criminals are determined, often stealing cars, trucks or vans to literally smash through the side of a building or rips the doors of the hinges of retail locations,” Managing Director of Public Affairs Mark Oliva told the DCNF. “They steal firearms and escape the crime scene in a matter of seconds to minutes, before law enforcement can respond to alarms. These criminals are stealing these firearms that will be used in violent crimes that victimize the communities in which we live, raise our families, send our children to school and attend church.”

In 2025, there were 181 burglaries, 531 larcenies and 26 robberies of FFLs, resulting in the theft of 3,163 firearms, according to data released by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

ATF is aware of the trend of planned raids on gun stores to steal inventory, according to a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“We continue to see thieves using fast, destructive methods such as ‘ram‑raids,’ smash‑and‑grabs, and stolen vehicles to break into FFLs. As you would expect, those guns often move quickly into criminal markets,” ATF Assistant Director of Public & Governmental Affairs Justin Ward told the DCNF. “ATF agents respond when a theft happens, working with local PDs and sheriffs to investigate (collect surveillance footage, process the crime scene, identify suspects) and ultimately recover stolen firearms. We also use tools like firearms tracing and NIBIN to help with our investigations.”

 “ATF has a long-standing partnership with the National Shooting Sports Foundation on a joint program called Operation Secure Store (OSS), which works directly with gun stores to strengthen security and reduce the chance of a successful break‑in,” Ward continued. “The program focuses on education and awareness, security assessments, and response procedures after a theft. The program helps FFLs identify vulnerabilities, improve physical security, and make choices that can prevent a break‑in from happening in the first place.”

Possessing a stolen firearm is a federal felony under 18 USC 922, and can be punished by up to 10 years in federal prison. The same section also makes robbing or breaking into a FFL to steal firearms a separate federal felony.