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http://chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-0010140181,FF.html
GUN SHOP THEFTS LEAD TO PUSH FOR SAFEGUARDS
By Dan Mihalopoulos
The Chicago Tribune
October 14, 2000
Burglars broke down the front door of a gun shop in Elgin last winter, smashed a glass display case and fled with 23 handguns. Most vanished on the streets, but at least one gun--a small-caliber Beretta--reappeared.
The automatic handgun was used in April to kill 18-year-old Matthew Kimble. Two weeks later, burglars struck the B&L Rod & Gun shop again, helping themselves to 12 more guns.
The Beretta's journey from a shattered display case to the hands of a killer is hardly an isolated case. Guns found at crime scenes frequently are traced to smash-and-grab burglaries.
The back-to-back break-ins of B&L have prompted Elgin police to campaign for an ordinance requiring stronger security measures in gun shops, a move the shop's owner says is calculated to put him out of business. But Elgin is not the first community to try to curb gun violence by applying pressure at its source.
Carol Stream, Northbrook and West Dundee are among the Chicago suburbs that require guns shops to take measures such as placing bars over windows and storing weapons overnight in safes.
Many dealers say their shops are small businesses operating on narrow profit margins and can't afford costly security measures. Some say the ordinances unfairly imply that they should be held responsible for what people do with stolen guns.
"They want to force the dealers in the city out of business," said William Whistle, the owner of B&L. "Then they can sit there and say, `We cleaned up the town.'"
Many retailers have taken steps to secure their stock, employing alarms, video surveillance, locked display cases, pull-down security gates and even crash barriers.
The U.S. government does not require dealers to take security measures, only to report lost or stolen firearms to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. But experts say there is no legal reason why Elgin and other municipalities cannot force gun retailers to take precautions against theft.
In Illinois, 23 licensed gun dealers have reported lost, stolen or missing firearms more than once each during the last six years, according to the ATF. Of those 23, six have filed three or more reports of lost, stolen or missing guns during that period.
K's Merchandise in Rockford has been robbed twice in less than a year. The store's security videotape showed that three masked robbers needed just 64 seconds to take 24 handguns in early 1999.
Nine weapons from that burglary were recovered, and Daniel Walker, then 18, was convicted and served 6 months in a prison boot camp.
"That sentence wasn't nearly enough for what he did," said Rockford Police Detective Danny Feltz. "He put 15 guns on the street."
Since 1994, Northbrook has required gun shops to store all firearms and ammunition in locked cases. Only employees approved by the police chief are allowed to have a key to a gun display.
And following a burglary last year at Bob's Trading Post, West Dundee approved perhaps the most far-ranging gunshop security ordinance in the Chicago area. The Village Board required the store to tie its alarm into the police response system, place bars over the windows and lock merchandise nightly in a secure room.
There have been no gun shop burglaries in West Dundee since the ordinance was approved.
Bob Aniballi, owner of Bob's Trading Post, said he agreed that his shop and the community are better served, although complying with the ordinance cost him $7,000.
"I don't want one gun to fall in the hands of the wrong people," Aniballi said.
After the burglaries at B&L, Elgin police asked Whistle, the owner, to improve security. He has refused, even though, he said, his insurance company canceled his policy because of the break-ins. His shop has an alarm system, but burglars were able to escape in the two or three minutes before police arrived.
Whistle said he resents the suggestion that he is even indirectly responsible for Matthew Kimble's death.
"Anything can be misused," he said. "If somebody takes your pencil and stabs someone in the eye, would you have great remorse?"
Elgin's measure, which is still being drafted, probably will require guns to be stored in a safe while the store is closed. It also calls for braided wire to be threaded through the trigger guards of handguns. City Atty. Mike Gehrman, who is drafting the proposal, said violators would be fined, with shops being forced to close only as a last resort.
"The spirit of the ordinance is to prevent thefts, not to be punitive to the shops," Gehrman said.
The Beretta used to kill Kimble was stolen from Whistle's store Dec. 11. Three men were arrested and charged in that burglary, but only one gun besides the Beretta has been recovered. The suspects told police they sold the guns quickly in Chicago.
None of the 12 weapons stolen in the second B&L break-in, in April, has been recovered, police said.
Kimble's mother, Terry, recalls taking her son as a young boy to visit the shop. She bought him his Boy Scout uniforms and first pocket knife there.
Police believe Matthew Kimble was an innocent bystander at a party where a fight broke out and shots were fired. Police have not been able to find the suspect in the slaying.
Terry Kimble said she thinks it was too easy for the gun to get into the shooter's hands.
"It should be harder to get into a gun dealer than a regular store," she said. "It just seems to be common sense."
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Gunslinger
I was promised a Shortycicle and I want a Shortycicle!
GUN SHOP THEFTS LEAD TO PUSH FOR SAFEGUARDS
By Dan Mihalopoulos
The Chicago Tribune
October 14, 2000
Burglars broke down the front door of a gun shop in Elgin last winter, smashed a glass display case and fled with 23 handguns. Most vanished on the streets, but at least one gun--a small-caliber Beretta--reappeared.
The automatic handgun was used in April to kill 18-year-old Matthew Kimble. Two weeks later, burglars struck the B&L Rod & Gun shop again, helping themselves to 12 more guns.
The Beretta's journey from a shattered display case to the hands of a killer is hardly an isolated case. Guns found at crime scenes frequently are traced to smash-and-grab burglaries.
The back-to-back break-ins of B&L have prompted Elgin police to campaign for an ordinance requiring stronger security measures in gun shops, a move the shop's owner says is calculated to put him out of business. But Elgin is not the first community to try to curb gun violence by applying pressure at its source.
Carol Stream, Northbrook and West Dundee are among the Chicago suburbs that require guns shops to take measures such as placing bars over windows and storing weapons overnight in safes.
Many dealers say their shops are small businesses operating on narrow profit margins and can't afford costly security measures. Some say the ordinances unfairly imply that they should be held responsible for what people do with stolen guns.
"They want to force the dealers in the city out of business," said William Whistle, the owner of B&L. "Then they can sit there and say, `We cleaned up the town.'"
Many retailers have taken steps to secure their stock, employing alarms, video surveillance, locked display cases, pull-down security gates and even crash barriers.
The U.S. government does not require dealers to take security measures, only to report lost or stolen firearms to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. But experts say there is no legal reason why Elgin and other municipalities cannot force gun retailers to take precautions against theft.
In Illinois, 23 licensed gun dealers have reported lost, stolen or missing firearms more than once each during the last six years, according to the ATF. Of those 23, six have filed three or more reports of lost, stolen or missing guns during that period.
K's Merchandise in Rockford has been robbed twice in less than a year. The store's security videotape showed that three masked robbers needed just 64 seconds to take 24 handguns in early 1999.
Nine weapons from that burglary were recovered, and Daniel Walker, then 18, was convicted and served 6 months in a prison boot camp.
"That sentence wasn't nearly enough for what he did," said Rockford Police Detective Danny Feltz. "He put 15 guns on the street."
Since 1994, Northbrook has required gun shops to store all firearms and ammunition in locked cases. Only employees approved by the police chief are allowed to have a key to a gun display.
And following a burglary last year at Bob's Trading Post, West Dundee approved perhaps the most far-ranging gunshop security ordinance in the Chicago area. The Village Board required the store to tie its alarm into the police response system, place bars over the windows and lock merchandise nightly in a secure room.
There have been no gun shop burglaries in West Dundee since the ordinance was approved.
Bob Aniballi, owner of Bob's Trading Post, said he agreed that his shop and the community are better served, although complying with the ordinance cost him $7,000.
"I don't want one gun to fall in the hands of the wrong people," Aniballi said.
After the burglaries at B&L, Elgin police asked Whistle, the owner, to improve security. He has refused, even though, he said, his insurance company canceled his policy because of the break-ins. His shop has an alarm system, but burglars were able to escape in the two or three minutes before police arrived.
Whistle said he resents the suggestion that he is even indirectly responsible for Matthew Kimble's death.
"Anything can be misused," he said. "If somebody takes your pencil and stabs someone in the eye, would you have great remorse?"
Elgin's measure, which is still being drafted, probably will require guns to be stored in a safe while the store is closed. It also calls for braided wire to be threaded through the trigger guards of handguns. City Atty. Mike Gehrman, who is drafting the proposal, said violators would be fined, with shops being forced to close only as a last resort.
"The spirit of the ordinance is to prevent thefts, not to be punitive to the shops," Gehrman said.
The Beretta used to kill Kimble was stolen from Whistle's store Dec. 11. Three men were arrested and charged in that burglary, but only one gun besides the Beretta has been recovered. The suspects told police they sold the guns quickly in Chicago.
None of the 12 weapons stolen in the second B&L break-in, in April, has been recovered, police said.
Kimble's mother, Terry, recalls taking her son as a young boy to visit the shop. She bought him his Boy Scout uniforms and first pocket knife there.
Police believe Matthew Kimble was an innocent bystander at a party where a fight broke out and shots were fired. Police have not been able to find the suspect in the slaying.
Terry Kimble said she thinks it was too easy for the gun to get into the shooter's hands.
"It should be harder to get into a gun dealer than a regular store," she said. "It just seems to be common sense."
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Gunslinger
I was promised a Shortycicle and I want a Shortycicle!