Eight handguns stolen from Parma gun store

Eight handguns were stolen from a Parma gun store earlier this week, authorities announced Friday.

Between 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and 9:41 a.m. Thursday, someone broke the front plate glass window of Chinappi's Firearms & Supplies, 5016 W. Ridge Road, and stole the firearms, said James Burroughs, resident agent in charge of the Rochester office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Burroughs said the store has been broken into five times since 2008. The ATF and National Sports Shooting Foundation are offering a combined $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

Burroughs said the business, which has been in operation for more than 30 years, doesn't have any surveillance cameras inside or outside of the premises. He said the suspect had to break through bars that were in the front window.

Lt. Dean Tuthill of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said deputies were called to the business at 9:45 a.m. Thursday. The business is federally licensed to sell guns, authorities said.

The investigation is being conducted jointly by the ATF and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. No other details of the gun burglary, including the makes and models of the stolen firearms, were released.

According to the Giffords Law Center, a legal nonprofit specializing in firearms legislation and reform, there are currently no special security requirements for gun stores in New York, as required in other states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

When a theft occurs, stolen guns are added to a federal database so authorities can monitor where they might be recovered, used in crimes, or attempted to be resold, Burroughs said.

"Oftentimes, these guns wind up in the wrong hands," Burroughs said. "Often gangs acquire these firearms through illegal means and they end up on the streets. It's very concerning for us."

Tuthill said the department's crime prevention officer has previously worked with the store on best practices to secure and store guns. He said the store owner has been "very cooperative" during the investigation.

Tuthill said investigators believe the guns will stay in the area. "You would hope that a business works all avenues to protect their inventory," Burroughs said. "Video surveillance, alarm systems, and the like, bars on the windows, it would behoove them to protect their business."

Authorities said the store is secure. "(The owner) has taken measures to try and safeguard his business," Tuthill said.

Anyone with information on the stolen handguns and the burglary is asked to contact the ATF at (888) 283-4867, email ATFtips@atf.gov, or through the agency's website at www.atf.gov/contact/atf-tips.

WCLEVELAND@Gannett.com

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