The Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Hundreds of guns that were stolen from a United Parcel Service facility in Tennessee were recovered Tuesday in the Chicago area, federal authorities said.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said most of the roughly 400 guns taken from a UPS facility in Memphis were found in Midlothian, a Chicago suburb.

ATF had said two men in a U-Haul truck took the guns Sunday. Agency spokesman Michael Knight said the truck was recovered along with the guns.

An 18-year-old man has been charged in the theft. Authorities are searching for the second suspect in addition to anyone else who may have been involved, Knight said.

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The estimate of 400 stolen firearms makes it one of the largest single gun thefts the ATF has investigated, Knight said. Agents are trying to determine if some of the guns had already been sold or traded before they were found.

“We are concerned that the firearms will end up on the streets not only potentially in the Memphis area, but also across the country,” Knight said before the guns recovery. “The criminal element knows no geographical boundary.”

Authorities had been concerned about the theft’s potential effect on public safety in this city and elsewhere and alerted the public early Tuesday. ATF offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction and asked the public to send social media posts, photos or any other information related to the theft.

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Memphis, like other large metropolitan areas, has a problem with violent crime, including gun-related offenses. The metro area, with more than 1.3 million people, saw an estimated 15,737 violent crimes in 2017, FBI statistics showed.

UPS said in a statement that it is working with law enforcement but does not comment on open investigations.

Knight said investigating a theft from a shipping facility is more complicated than a gun shop, for example, because weapons at gun stores are isolated in inventory, Knight said.

“It’s a very tedious process that we’re looking at to make sure that every firearm is accounted for, from the shipper as well as from the receiver,” Knight said.

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