“It kind of sickens you,” he added when asked about the burglary. He said that while most of the store’s 1,500 guns are locked up at night, some are stored in glass display cases. The thief grabbed guns from those cases, Dennis said.

He said a single burglar was in his store for 72 seconds before making his or her getaway.

“He brought his own satchel in,” Dennis said. “I guess he was in here, cased the joint, and then grabbed ’em and then went out the back where the car went through the garage door.”

A 2017 investigation by the Tampa Bay Times and Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting found that loose security at gun shops can lead to more stolen guns. Of 20 burglaries the journalists examined, there were at least 13 cases where the stolen guns had been hanging on walls or stored in glass cases.

At the Triple Threat Armory in Affton, management has been able to largely repel two burglary attempts within the last year. In November, thieves were only able to steal ammunition and a laptop computer because the store’s guns were locked in safes.