Thieves deterred by security changes at Shelby pawn shop

SHELBY, N.C. — Getting into American Tactical and Pawn isn't easy.

The owners took a number of security measures, to the surprise of thieves who expected to break some glass and walk out with guns earlier this week.

Surveillance video shows two men on the sales floor of American Tactical and Pawn on Tuesday morning.

One had a bandanna and a backpack in which to stuff stolen guns.

But they paused when they got to the gun case.

"At one point, it looks like he is almost going, 'What happened? Where are all of the guns?’” said co-owner Tim Wright.

One burglar was so stunned that he dropped the rifle he was holding, and both men fled the store.

Wright said they probably expected a big take like the thieves who broke in through the ceiling over the Thanksgiving holiday.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, American Tactical and Paw is one of 23 gun stores in the Charlotte Region that has been burglarized or robbed since 2014, one of the highest rates in the nation.

The thieves used a crowbar on the back door and managed to push up two heavy bars that blocked the door from the inside.

Four men went inside.

“They are a determined bunch of people,” Wright said.

Two stayed in the back and pulled cables that they thought disabled the security system and the cameras.

The normally packed handgun cases were empty.

"We packed everything up, and there was nothing to get,” Wright said.

All four men scurried out.

“It was the coolest thing. It really was,” Wright said.

Shelby police arrived just after the would-be thieves left.

There are no arrests yet, police said, but they believe that they will make arrests soon.

The owners said thieves should not try to break in again.

"They are going to be greeted with a lot more security than they were before,” Wright said.

Cox Media Group