The gun store heist lasted four minutes.
Just after 3:15 a.m. Monday, someone rammed a stolen Hyundai sedan through the front entrance of Poway Weapons and Gear. Four people in face masks and gloves stormed the store, busted open display cases and racks, shattered glass, and grabbed dozens of firearms.
Deputies responding to the burglary arrived to find the Hyundai left behind. The thieves had gone, fleeing in a different car.
They made off with 78 guns.
Federal investigators and law enforcement officers in two states quickly tracked the getaway car to a home in Las Vegas. Before the day ended, they had recovered 35 guns, officials with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Friday.
The rest — 43 guns — remain missing, officials said.
ATF officials said they arrested four Nevada men, ranging in age from 18 to 21 years old. One of them, an 18-year-old from Boron, was charged in Nevada federal court with transporting stolen weapons.
He and a 21-year-old man were charged with trafficking and possessing firearms. The other two — ages 18 and 19 — were charged with firearms trafficking.
According to the federal complaint, the Boron man showed up at the home of the 21-year-old, two bags of guns in tow. Later, the other two men briefly stopped by the home.
After the two men left, police stopped them and found two of the stolen guns. A search of the home turned up 33 more guns.
The investigation and search for the remaining weapons is ongoing, the ATF said.
