Thief steals crossbows, guns, knives from elderly couple's Gastonia home

GASTONIA, N.C. — Someone stole cash and weapons Monday afternoon from an elderly couple in Gastonia, officials said.

The couple, who were not home at the time, said the brazen theft was the second time it's happened to them.

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A thief stole about $4,000 worth of weapons from their home 20 years ago, the couple said.

"Cleaned me out totally -- of all my weapons," Julian Barker said Tuesday.

The burglar recently got away with $2,000 worth of weapons, including crossbows, guns and collectible knives, along with $1,800.

The weapons were an investment and the Barkers were going to sell them.

"We had plans," Judith Barker said. "We were gonna do this, fix the fence, go on vacation."

The couple, who are in their 70s, came home Tuesday and realized someone had broken into their home through a back window.

The Barkers said the thief took their time searching room by room.

"He knew we still had stuff in this house," Julian Barker said.

The couple said the suspect took every gun they owned except one they had with them. A neighbor saw a red truck Monday in the driveway.

The Barkers provided police with the serial numbers from the guns, which they hope are recovered soon.

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Cox Media Group