A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information on a group of burglars who stole 29 firearms from a store in Santa Monica last week, officials said Tuesday.
The burglars arrived at Big 5 Sporting Goods at 3121 Wilshire Blvd. around 8 p.m. May 31 and smashed the windows with a crowbar and a sledgehammer, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
They then used bolt cutters to cut through a metal gate and broke into the store, stealing multiple firearms, officials said.
Some of the suspects were seen riding in a white BMW four-door sedan, according to ATF.
Because the store is a federally licensed firearms retailer, ATF Los Angeles is offering up to a $5,000 reward, along with another $5,000 reward from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
On the day of the burglary, Santa Monica was under a 4 p.m. curfew with storefronts citywide boarded up as hundreds took to the streets to protest police brutality and decry the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
That night, the largely peaceful protests were accompanied by groups who smashed windows, looted multiple stores and set cars on fire.
National Guard troops were sent to the city to assist in mass arrests, and hundreds were taken into custody that night, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.
Anyone with information on the burglary was told to contact ATF by calling 888-283-8477 or online.
