A routine patrol early this morning by a Santa Clara police officer kept thieves from running off with a “significant” amount of firearms. Santa Clara Police Department (SCPD) Assistant Chief of Police Wahid Kazem said it happened at Reed’s Indoor Range on Duane Avenue.
“We arrived by chance before the alarms were off. It was just our routine patrol when the officer came upon the burglary in progress,” said Kazem. “There was a brief vehicle pursuit. At this point, it’s an open investigation. We’re actively looking into and would rather not share any more details than that.”
So far police have not made any arrests or detained anyone related to the incident but SCPD says it is an “open and active” investigation.
SCPD closed Duane Avenue between Lafayette Street and Raymond Avenue around 6:30 this morning while officers investigated. The owners of Reed’s Indoor Range are working on an inventory to give officers an exact picture of what the burglars stole.
Kazem said Reed’s does have an alarm but in this case, the routine patrol paid off.
“The alarm came in just as the officer was pulling in which is why alarm response was just a second earlier than they probably anticipated on the police coming,” said Kazem.
He says the timing made a huge difference.
“We recovered a significant amount of [the firearms] sheerly because of the timing that our officer just happened to be pulling into the lot on routine patrol,” said Kazem. “The suspects left a large amount of what they were going to take. That’s not to say that they didn’t take anything. Obviously, that’s something we have to work with the store owners about inventory to see what they had and what’s still there, but I can tell you that a significant amount of firearms were left at the scene outside of the store after they were taken.”
Thank God that SCPD officers were patrolling and arrived earlier than the thieves anticipated. It is scary to think that Reed’s may not have physical security to make sure that an alarm goes off prior to thieves gaining access to the inside considering that what they have to steal are guns.
Even if the criminals are caught it’s probably their “first” offense. I would be surprised if it costs them any jail time. Public opinion says that felons should be leniently dealt with and legal gun owners harassed.