Surveillance video released in gun store robbery

ALIEF, TX (KTRK) -- Dozens of guns could now be on the streets following an early morning smash and grab at an Alief-area gun store.

Four thieves hit Fountain Firearms, 9478 Highway 6 South between 5:30am and 6:30am Sunday.

By Monday afternoon, duct tape still secured the display cases. The store owner tells Eyewitness News the burglars were in and out in about 10 minutes and got away with as many as 50 firearms.

"It's dangerous, really dangerous," shopper Pilar Naranjo said of the break-in.

Crystal-clear surveillance video shows a car cruising in front of the gun store, but the crooks entered by breaking through the brick wall in the back. Once inside, they shattered the cases and grabbed anything they could.

The store owner says their loot included mostly small caliber handguns and revolvers. They also took rifles from the layaway rack. An exterior camera recorded them dumping the long guns onto the ground and then throwing them over the fence.

"Just to know a gun could get into the wrong hands and then a little kid gets shot at a house. That's no good," shopper Darren Thomas said.

Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office released these descriptions of the thieves and the crime:

One suspect had a black vest with a hoodie over a light-colored long-sleeve shirt. He stands about 5' 10" and was slender. He was wearing gray sweatpants and dark tennis shoes.

The second suspect was about the same height and wore what appeared to be all-gray or light-colored sweat clothes with a hoodie. He also was wearing dark tennis shoes.

The third suspect was about the same height and was wearing a dark gray hoodie-style sweat shirt, white sweat pants and white tennis shoes. The fourth suspect appeared to be shorter than the other three. He was wearing a gray hoodie-style sweat shirt and red sweat pants.

All four suspects wore towels or t-shirts over their faces; three out of the four suspects were carrying backpacks. They were driving a dark mid-size sedan.

It appears the first two suspects took turns as lookouts next to a chain-link fence adjacent to the building. They had scaled the fence in order to gain entry in the back of the building.

Anyone with information is urged to call Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers at 281-342-TIPS. All calls to Crime Stoppers are anonymous.