a bad day

[Russ E]

went out to my truck, which sits in my driveway, to prepare it for fishing tomorrow.

noticed the center console was open and my belongings were scattered all over the truck.

I did not notice anything missing, until I remembered I placed my carry gun in the console, Friday to run into a bank.

My S&W M&P shield was missing.

I had an instant feeling of dread.  A criminal now owns one of my guns.

 

I filed a police report and found 11 vehicles were hit in our neighborhood last night.

there is camera footage from a couple residences, so hopefully they are caught. 

 

 

[Way north bass guy]

That sucks, but I have a quick question. Why would you need a gun in your truck to “run to the bank”? If things are that bad in the states that you can’t go to the bank without a firearm, I’m gonna just stay here in Canada and catch big smallies and mediocre sized largies, you guys can have the big southern largemouth all to yourselves   ?.

And before anyone gives me a blast of crap about being an anti gun nut, yes, I do know there are shootings here in Canada and I do own multiple guns which I use for hunting and target shooting. 

[NHBull]

7 minutes ago, Way north bass guy said:

That sucks, but I have a quick question. Why would you need a gun in your truck to “run to the bank”? If things are that bad in the states that you can’t go to the bank without a firearm, I’m gonna just stay here in Canada and catch big smallies and mediocre sized largies, you guys can have the big southern largemouth all to yourselves   ?.

Being Canadian, you must have been issued one of those crystal balls that tell you when bad things are going to happen.  We don’t have them in the US, so we opt to be prepared for that special occasion ?

[Russ E]

27 minutes ago, Way north bass guy said:

That sucks, but I have a quick question. Why would you need a gun in your truck to “run to the bank”? If things are that bad in the states that you can’t go to the bank without a firearm, I’m gonna just stay here in Canada and catch big smallies and mediocre sized largies, you guys can have the big southern largemouth all to yourselves   ?.

And before anyone gives me a blast of crap about being an anti gun nut, yes, I do know there are shootings here in Canada and I do own multiple guns which I use for hunting and target shooting. 

i did not have a gun just to go to the bank. I live in a normally safe area.I rarely carry a gun.  I went to a meat market in a less than savory area of town and stopped by the bank on the way home. You can't carry a gun into the bank, so I placed it in my center console.

[Way north bass guy]

4 minutes ago, Russ E said:

i did not have a gun just to go to the bank. I live in a normally safe area.I rarely carry a gun.  I went to a meat market in a less than savory area of town and stopped by the bank on the way home. You can't carry a gun into the bank, so I placed it in my center console.

That makes sense. I just have never had the need to carry a gun anywhere unless I was going hunting somewhere and wondered why you’d need one to go to the bank. 

[Russ E]

6 minutes ago, Way north bass guy said:

That makes sense. I just have never had the need to carry a gun anywhere unless I was going hunting somewhere and wondered why you’d need one to go to the bank. 

unfortunately I have a constant craving for barbecue. The best meat market is in a  sketchy neighborhood.

[TnRiver46]

I never carry a gun either but I sure would like to have one if I needed it . 

[Russ E]

I grew up with guns. Started hunting with my father when I was 7.

until recently I never felt the need to carry a gun. Times have changed.

There has not been any real crime, besides a few robberies, in my area since I moved here.

half of the city police department lives in my housing development.

If you go 10 miles east of here there are shootings nearly every night. 

I stay away from the inner city most of the time. Unfortunately the court house and a lot of the businesses I frequent, are in the city.

if I go into the city I am carrying.

[Log Catcher]

Good luck to Russ E. Hope they catch them and you get your gun back. More than likely they traded it to get some drugs and go really stupid for a while.

[Russ E]

5 minutes ago, Log Catcher said:

Good luck to Russ E. Hope they catch them and you get your gun back. More than likely they traded it to get some drugs and go really stupid for a while.

Thanks. honestly getting my gun back is not the major concern. The possibility of someone using it to do something bad, is what bothers me.

[LonnieP]

Sorry to hear that. There’s nothing worse than a thief. 

[Gundog]

@Russ E I don't want to pile it on and I know you didn't leave your gun in the truck on purpose but I know people who do leave guns in their vehicles intentionally and I have to say its not a good idea. The times I do carry if I have to leave the gun in the car I put it in a hidden safe and always make sure I take it out when I get back in the car. Carrying a gun is a responsibility that can have dire consequences. That said, I hope they catch the guy and you get the gun back so that it doesn't get into evil hands.

[LCG]

I feel bad for your situation as you obviously did not want this to happen. But your bad day could turn into a worse day for someone else. 

 

I am a firm believer that if you own or carry a firearm, you are in complete care and control of it at all times.

 

I have owned and carried here in Canada (employment) so I am speaking from experience. Here you would be criminally charged for improper storage of the firearm and the ammunition and negligence, leading to jail time, criminal record, and a lifetime ban from firearm ownership. We have strict gun laws, which I do agree with for the most part. 

 

I hope everything works out for you and your property. I don't mean this as a holier than thou type lecture, more of a reminder of people's responsibility and how dangerous a firearm in some crackhead or teenagers hands could be. 

[Russ E]

1 minute ago, LCG said:

I feel bad for your situation as you obviously did not want this to happen. But your bad day could turn into a worse day for someone else. 

 

I am a firm believer that if you own or carry a firearm, you are in complete care and control of it at all times.

 

I have owned and carried here in Canada (employment) so I am speaking from experience. Here you would be criminally charged for improper storage of the firearm and the ammunition and negligence, leading to jail time, criminal record, and a lifetime ban from firearm ownership. We have strict gun laws, which I do agree with for the most part. 

 

I hope everything works out for you and your property. I don't mean this as a holier than thou type lecture, more of a reminder of people's responsibility and how dangerous a firearm in some crackhead or teenagers hands could be. 

Here it is not illegal to store a loaded weapon in your vehicle. i personally know several people that do.. I just generally prefer not too. unfortunately the one time I did, it was stolen, while sitting (pretty sure it was locked)in my lighted driveway. when I talked to the officer, while giving the police report, mine was not the only one stolen that night.  Sounds like there were 3 of them and they knew what they were doing.

[Big Rick]

I feel your pain, Russ.  Arm chair quarterbacks are always Super Bowl winners. It's always easy to criticize a man when he opens himself up for scrutiny. But, rest easy, as these mods won't let this thread continue down this path for very long. 

 

There are way more of us that are in your corner than the few that are quick to put you in your place. 

[Russ E]

11 minutes ago, Big Rick said:

I feel your pain, Russ.  Arm chair quarterbacks are always Super Bowl winners. It's always easy to criticize a man when he opens himself up for scrutiny. But, rest easy, as these mods won't let this thread continue down this path for very long. 

 

There are way more of us that are in your corner than the few that are quick to put you in your place. 

Thanks. I am not proud of what happened. Although I did not do anything illegal, I will still feel bad if that gun is used in a violent crime.

[Big Rick]

1 minute ago, Russ E said:

Thanks. I am not proud of what happened. Although I did not do anything illegal, I will still feel bad if that gun is used in a violent crime.

You did nothing wrong. Negligent? yes... wrong?? NO, unless your state has laws that prohibit you from having a gun in your vehicle. Don't beat yourself up over this. Just learn from the experience and move on. You can't undo it. Nobody is perfect except on forums and boards where small men can hide behind big keyboards. 

 

I am in a court proceeding right now because a thug broke into my house, stole my keys, opened my locked vehicle, and proceeded to steal my firearm. It was hidden in my car. My car was in my garage. The ONLY thing that I could've done to prevent this is to take the gun out. In my state it's legal to have a firearm in your vehicle. I am a retired LEO with the rank of Captain. I don't flaunt that, but at the same time I'm not some snowflake that has no clue how to handle a gun. I'm happy to say that I have my gun back. The grand jury will decide what happens to the perp this week. And, like in your case, he has broken into many homes. It's a thousand miracles he's not been killed already. 

 

I'm sure that I'll get some flack from this by people that believe themselves superior. They've already chimed in on what you did wrong. However, we are not perfect. Just fishermen. Take a deep breath and let the law do it's thing. Go fishing. 

 

 

[LCG]

22 minutes ago, Big Rick said:

I feel your pain, Russ.  Arm chair quarterbacks are always Super Bowl winners. It's always easy to criticize a man when he opens himself up for scrutiny. But, rest easy, as these mods won't let this thread continue down this path for very long. 

 

There are way more of us that are in your corner than the few that are quick to put you in your place. 

I certainly did not mean to criticize or put anyone in their place. 

 

I sympathize with the owners situation and I was simply expressing a point of view and an opinion on safety. 

 

It was not my intention to antagonize anyone. 

[Big Rick]

49 minutes ago, LCG said:

I have owned and carried here in Canada (employment) so I am speaking from experience. Here you would be criminally charged for improper storage of the firearm and the ammunition and negligence, leading to jail time, criminal record, and a lifetime ban from firearm ownership. We have strict gun laws, which I do agree with for the most part. 

Not sure how you meant this.... but it came across as putting Russ in his place.  Otherwise, he would not have responded by defending his actions. But, thanks for the apology. That takes a man. 

[Russ E]

 

@LCG and @Big Rick

I take no offense in anybody's comments.

As a guy who preaches gun safety and responsible ownership, today was a huge blow to me.

 

One last word on the subject.

 

I give Huge Kudos to the Kansas City Kansas police department.

The ladies on the switchboard were polite.

the officer that came to my house and took my report was great. 

She was incredibly understanding and thorough, even after filling out several other reports in the neighborhood before me. I was number 11 for the day.

she lifted several fingerprints from my truck. which to an old redneck like myself was impressive to watch.

 

[Bluebasser86]

8 hours ago, Way north bass guy said:

That makes sense. I just have never had the need to carry a gun anywhere unless I was going hunting somewhere and wondered why you’d need one to go to the bank. 

OP lives on the western edge of Kansas City, Kansas, which to date has had 150 homicides in 2018, 208 last year, 187 the year before. I lived in the same city for several years. It's a safe place for the most part, but it's close proximity to the inner city where gang activity, drugs, and violent crimes are a real problem makes a gun a pretty good insurance policy. 

 

KCK PD does an excellent job covering a large area and taking a lot of calls, worked with them a lot with my last department, very professional and good people. The mom of a good friend of mine was a dispatcher for KCK forever. 

[TnRiver46]

Also lets keep in mind if someone steals a gun and does something bad with it, it’s not the fault of the person who legally purchased the gun. It’s the thief’s fault, no gray area. In this country we are always trying to blame anyone except the people who deserve the direct blame 

[scaleface]

I am usually armed having been a victim of robbery , assault and battery by three grown men when I was teenager . I was alone in the country  sitting at my camp-fire .   So yeah, I carry and often have a gun in my locked vehicle .

[Choporoz]

I have a young relative who is currently in prison for.....stealing (and possessing) weapons from unlocked vehicles.  I am continually amazed at how many guns are stolen from vehicles....AND how many of those vehicles weren't even locked.

 

I had my console rifled one night a couple years ago when I accidentally left my truck unlocked in front of my house overnight.  I was quite surprised that nothing was taken, especially since I probably had a few grand worth of rods, reels, lures inside.  Didn't realize at the time, that they were almost certainly just looking for guns,... or possibly cash or keys

[PAbasser927]

3 hours ago, scaleface said:

I am usually armed having been a victim of robbery , assault and battery by three grown men when I was teenager . I was alone in the country  sitting at my camp-fire .   So yeah, I carry and often have a gun in my locked vehicle .

I’ve always liked the saying that guns are like parachutes.  If you ever need one and you don’t have it, you probably won’t ever need it again.  I’m glad that was not the case for you.