Police in Orlando asked for the public’s help Tuesday identifying a thief who stole eight firearms from the trunk of a car during Hurricane Matthew.
A surveillance video posted to the Orlando Police Department’s social media channels shows a man wandering the streets of the Fairway Cove neighborhood around 5:30 a.m. Friday, checking for unlocked car doors.
After a few unsuccessful attempts, police said the man entered an unlocked Nissan Altima parked in a driveway where he found eight guns — five rifles, two pistols and a shotgun — stashed in the trunk. Police say the suspect loaded the guns into a backpack and walked away.
The video isn’t of the gun theft itself, police said.
The man who owns the weapons was staying with a friend to ride out the storm and admitted he left the unlocked vehicle, according to The Orlando Sentinel.
Police said the incident “is a perfect example of the #Lockitup message.”
Twitter users, however, heaved criticism at the department and the gun owner over the incident, saying the story “sounded fishy” and the man should be charged “for improperly storing his weapons.”
“We would advise folks to never leave guns in their cars — locked or unlocked,” the department said in a response to one user who commented on the amount of guns left unattended in the trunk. “But not everyone listens.”
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