Assault Rifles Stolen From Englewood Rail Yard
By Chuck Sudo in News on May 10, 2014 4:00PM
Federal authorities are investigating the theft of assault rifles from a rail yard in Englewood earlier this week. Officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives acknowledged 13 Smith & Wesson AR-15 rifles were stolen in the early hours of May 4 from a Norfolk Southern Railway freight train car at 61st Street and Lafayette Avenue.
The rifles come equipped with 30-round magazine clips capable of firing 5.56mm "NATO round" ammunition. Naturally, ATF authorities and Chicago Police want to find the weapons before they can be used in any crimes in the city. ATF Special Agent Thomas Ahern said they don't believe the thieves had any prior knowledge of the gun shipment, part of a shipment of 50 rifles headed from a Smith & Wesson facility on the east coast to a dealer in Minnesota.
“This happens from time to time, where these train cars are burglarized,” he said. “These train cars could have had anything on them that ships by rail, from shoes to computers, but the thieves just happened to hit on a shipment of guns.”