Two armed teens – 11 and 14 – break into gun store, steal 22 weapons

Early on Wednesday morning, an 11-year-old and 14-year-old set of brothers broke into a gun store in Cape Coral, Florida and stole 22 weapons.

Police officers saw the two young boys run away when they got near the Guns 4 Less store at around 3:00 a.m., and the brothers began to toss the stolen guns as they fled.

“The preliminary investigation revealed that the juveniles cut the power off to the business and forced entry through the rear door,” Green said. “While inside they both smashed the display cases and began ransacking the entire business for a total of 22 guns, rifle and handgun magazines, and various calibers of ammunition. The stolen items were all accounted for and recovered.”

The youths were unsuccessful in their attempts to cut off the power. As a result of this, when they smashed display cases, police received an alarm which alerted them to the robbery.

Responding officers spotted the brothers running from the scene “armed with multiple handguns, ammunition, magazines and long guns,” Cape Coral police said.

Spokesperson Sgt. Julie Green said the boys eventually dropped their cache on the street “due to the weight of the multiple guns and ammunition” and scampered off in separate directions with cops in pursuit.

But the brothers were eventually located and now face 22 counts of grand theft of a firearm, one count of armed burglary and several other charges. The older brother was also charged with violating his probation for a prior armed robbery charge.

The store owner told police that the suspects had previously entered the store during business hours and were told to leave.

Green said investigators are probing if the brothers are linked to prior crimes in the area. The brothers are not being named at this stage due to them being minors.