If you’ve seen the news in recent weeks, then you know America is dealing with repercussions involving migrant gangs due to a crisis on our southern border. Specifically in urban areas designated as sanctuary cities, the situation is growing out of control with violence and crime spilling out into surrounding suburbs, as is the case with Aurora, Colorado, where Venezuelan prison gangs are taking over apartment complexes and terrorizing residents. It seems these migrant gangs now have their sights set on arming themselves by robbing Colorado-based gun stores deploying a particularly heinous method to shield themselves from the legal fallout. They’re using children. Colorado gun store owners, however, are not impressed and are fighting back with security measures designed to thwart future attacks.
At least eight Colorado gun stores have been robbed this far, with migrant gangs sending children, typically between the ages of 12 and 17, to do their dirty work for them. In recent Colorado Springs smash-and-grab attacks, the young thieves used stolen cars to crash into the buildings where they would then proceed to carry off any firearms they could take from the shelves.
“They rammed through the wall, climbed over the hood of the car and ran in the store,” says Steven Kinder, general manager of Spartan Defense and Training, in an interview with KDVR-TV.
At Spartan Defense and Training, the thieves were able to take several AK-47s and Glock pistols, including some ammunition. This was only the first robbery by the group that night, as they drove the same stolen car into DCF Guns in Colorado Springs. This attack did not go quite as planned, however, and the gang was unable to gain entry as the owners of the store had installed a double entry security measure with the car only able to breach the initial door.
In light of the growing crime and the targeting of gun stores, shop owners have come together to discuss how to make their stores and inventories less vulnerable to criminals. One method that seems effective thus far is to lock up firearms in large gun safes at the end of the business day rather than leaving them on shelves overnight. While this measure might seem extremely reasonable, it can be a cumbersome proposition as the amount of safe space necessary as well as the additional setup and takedown every day can be expensive and laborious. It has worked to some extent, however, as thieves have come away with far fewer firearms since this practice began.
While the nature of the crimes is enough to trouble anyone paying attention, investigators are additionally disturbed by the fact that the perpetrators of these smash-and-grab robberies are most often minors. Migrant gangs recruit these children because they know the courts will only impose short juvenile detention sentences of a few months if they are caught and then expunge the record when they turn 18.
“They know that they can’t get the book thrown at them as hard as an adult can after 18 if it’s not that bad of a crime, they’re scot-free and able to basically re-up on their resume to do whatever they want for the gang,” said Devin Perkins, a DCF Guns associate.
Nearly 30 Colorado businesses have had merchandise stolen this year after being crashed into by minors with stolen vehicles, causing the area and small business owners to suffer, according to KKTV. Timothy Arthur, veteran, and owner of the Let’s Make a Deal Pawn and Gun shop which was also a victim of a smash-and-grab in Colorado Springs last month said, “Every year it gets worse and worse. They’re putting small businesses out of business, basically. It’s hard to recover from big damages like this if you don’t have insurance,” reported KDRO-TV. Arthur is one of the shop owners who locks firearms up in a safe each night rather than leaving them on the shelves and did not lose any firearms during the robbery.
The situation has worsened exponentially during the Biden presidency, as his administration has failed to secure the border, ushering in countless undocumented migrants, many of whom belong to gangs, cartels and other criminal organizations. That crisis is compounded in many major cities such as Denver due to their sanctuary policies, making them a haven for migrant gangs. As with most cities, however, there are a great number of opportunities for criminal elements in the surrounding suburbs as well, and it was only a matter of time before the overflow would begin to negatively impact those communities, which is what we are seeing here.
Using minors is an age old technique to reduce liability for criminal acts. Gangs use minors to do their “wet” work, and a few years ago, there was a gang in Sacramento that would drive a car with three or four minors up north to the town of Mt. Shasta or Weed, then work their way south with the apparently unarmed minors raiding drug stores on the trip back. The teenagers would vault the drug store counters and then steal opiates. Of course staff were prohibited from interfering on pain of termination. It stopped after barriers were placed that prevented entry behind the counters, and several arrests of the adults who were driving the cars.
California wanted to pass a law that required gun stores to erect bollards between the store and the street to prevent the intrusion of vehicles, ,and another to require that stores lock up their guns at night.
Most stores around here have bollard posts installed in front of the doors, and this generally isn’t a high crime area. Well, at least it wasn’t until the invasion began…things are changing for the worse.
Seems like some concrete caltrops, anti-tank devices with four points that always have one pointing straight up. If a car, truck or tank drives over it they become trapped by the points and unable to extricate themselves to drive away. They also won’t get anywhere near the doors or windows.
Not a perfect solution since they might bring a separate getaway car, but lots cheaper than installing bollards.
The only solution is to start shooting people while they are in the middle of their voluntary criminal act. Kill enough of them and the problem will end.
You TTAG authors are nothing but a bunch of RACISTS, just like the commenters. There aren’t any “criminal migrant gangs” in this country. It’s nothing but a figment of your imagination. And if this was happening, it’s all Whitey’s fault, anyway.
big(smile)
You’re uncomfortable. Good.
We had similar problems here in central Florida a number of years back. The store owners can make it a lot harder to get stolen from, but it takes some effort and money to do so.
1 – Heavy concrete planters or bollards placed in front of stores to repel vehicle smash-in entry.
2 – Replace front window glass with shatter-resistant clear Lexan sheet. *Very* effective against hammers, crowbars, bricks or similar breaking windows.
3 – Replace door pull hardware with nylon nuts and bolts to thwart chains on door handles tearing the door off, let them only get the door pull handle instead of the whole door.
4 – Seriously consider keeping a very unpleasant dog or dogs in the shop after hours.
As far as I am personally considered, if I was a store owner where a kid was stealing a gun, the kid will get shot, period. The video evidence is all I will need in this county, where we have Sheriff Grady “Because they ran out of bullets” Judd, when asked why his deputies fired over 100 times into a guy who killed a cop and his police dog, Diogi.
They don’t play in Polk county… 😉
I don’t care that the thief is a minor. But I would give the adult who ran this criminal group the death penalty.
Muslim terrorists have you used children as bomb carriers. They use Children as assassins. They have hidden behind children and shot people.
There is nothing wrong with the government executing convicted criminals. At least they had a trial.
But if you don’t like that, then you should support me. When I call for the police to be disarmed, and issued night sticks and the training to use them.
Because the police, representatives of the government, shoot and kill the innocent and the guilty all the time. And they don’t get prosecuted. But they will prosecute a police officer who has a justifiable shooting.
In fact the police get to kill thieves all the time. Who steal government property and they’re not prosecuted. But they will prosecute a property owner, if he shoots a criminal stealing from him.
“Failed to secure the border”? LOL they encouraged cretins to cross. Didn’t Charles Dickens write about child gangs??? We’ve had breakin’s & Thieves attempt & succeed around here Illinois & Indiana. One gun shop owner was shot to death in Glenwood,Illinois(out of business). A couple successful robberies including in NW Indiana of Deb’s Gun Range & shop & Blythes(out of business since April 2024). Attempted at South County guns in St. John & Pelchers in Lansing. Both have very good security especially South County Guns. Oh & it’s ok to shoot thieves in ILLANNOY & especially Indiana🙄One shop I frequent in Crete,Illinois(ASGARD arms) is like a fortress! No idea about Range USA where I shoot & bought a couple gats. Then again in MERRILLVILLE ,Indiana a guy got shot on the range “accidentally”…
American police and politicians are not ready for what’s coming. Worse, many are in active denial.
Shits gonna go bananas in the next few years.
^^ THIS ^^
Buy more ammo. Get to the range and practice. Stay sober. Exercise. Network with like-minded neighbors.
It’s just the beginning.
It really does make me happy that the libertarians liberals and the left, got what they wanted. Immigrants all around them.
And never forget. They voted for this. They voted for politians who openly called for sanctuary status. You have 50 different states. And 50 different ways of doing things.
If voting at the ballot box doesn’t work for you? Then you can always vote with your feet.
But then that only applies to conservatives. The three L’s. You guys just stay where you’re at.
Colorado was always a free state, a wonderful beautiful free state. And a low tax state. And it was destroyed by the d.rug leg.a.liza.ti.on cro.wd. and h.om0.sex.uals. Who are both s.0.cial.ist pr.ogr.es.si.ve in their po.lit.ical ori.en.tati.on.
Smashing into storefronts was a problem 25 years ago. In this area, pawn shops were the first targets. It stopped when store owners installed heavy bollards or concrete barriers in front of their stores.
According to the smartest people in the room, stealing is a non violent crime. Because it doesn’t involve harming someone.