MACON, Ga. — Federal agents and Bibb County investigators are hoping someone may have the tip that could lead them to the people behind a huge gun heist in Macon.
The pair stole around five dozen guns during an early morning break-in at Howard's Pawn on Mercer University Drive.
Kevin Truitt trains guard dogs and was at Howard's Monday to talk about safety. He says increased police presence would help.
"Nobody is immune. I mean, it could happen to us in our homes. I mean, you hear about it every day," Truitt said.
According to the Bibb County Sheriff's Office, two masked burglars entered Howard's through a large hole knocked into a brick wall.
Howard Reed owns the shop. He didn't want to appear on camera but talked to us about the theft that happened around 2 a.m. last Wednesday.
Reed says he plans to add more guard dogs and concrete barriers around the business to increase safety.
"Dogs are definitely a deterrent and can definitely help to solve this problem or alleviate the possibilities of it happening more frequently," Truitt said.
Reed says it's been close to 10 years since thieves last got onto his property, but with around 60 guns stolen, it marks the first time he's had to make an insurance claim. Kayla Dawn Smith and William Lee Jackson are frequent customers at Howard's.
"People are only expectative that guns kill people. No, people kill people. That many guns just out and about, that's a very scary thing because you don't know who has them," Smith said.
"They could get into the wrong kid's hands and when they get to school, have another mass shooting," Jackson said.
Reed says for the first few nights after the break-in, he had a sheriff's deputy guarding the place, but he says it's too expensive to continue that.
"The majority of the people that are doing the most violence and things that create problems for us as a society are not the ones that have legal guns, legally-registered guns," Truitt said.
Reed also said he's planning on adding infrared cameras to increase security.
The ATF is working with Bibb investigators on the case. If you have any information that could help solve the case, investigators ask you to call Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68-CRIME.