Stolen gun puts lives on the line
Thursday, 3 July 2008
IT is feared the opportunist thieves who stole a police officer's handgun from a house in the Seven Mile Straight area may go on the rampage using the firearm for further robberies in the Antrim area.
The criminals, who originally set out to hijack a car, made off with the weapon as they scoured the house for car keys in the early hours of Saturday morning.
It is understood the firearm is still missing despite the car being later abandoned in the Stewartstown Road area of west Belfast.
Concerns have also been raised that should the burglars attempt to use the handgun to threaten future victims there could be fatal consequences.
It is understood the thieves entered the house in the Seven Mile Straight area sometime around 3.30am before making off with a Mini Cooper car, several other items and the legally held firearm.
Police have said the theft was part of a 'creeper burglary', where trespassers purposely break into a home specifically to steal the householder's car keys.
DUP councillor and Chairperson of Antrim DPP Pam Lewis has described the theft of the police officer's handgun at the weekend as 'deeply worrying'.
Councillor Lewis said: "This particular burglary has an added sinister dimension, given that one of the items stolen was the police officer's legally held handgun.
“Not only have those engaged in this sickening crime inflicted fear on those they burgled but now that the thieves are in possession of a gun, which they may well attempt to use in order to carry out further crime, they could be inflicting more fear and sorrow on unsuspecting victims.
“I would urge anyone with information to assist the police in their investigation so that those responsible are very quickly brought before the courts and the firearm is returned to safe keeping, to those who uphold the law rather than those who are lawbreakers."
Speaking further on the theft, the DPP Chair said she understood how this could be 'embarrassing' for the PSNI.
