Due to the popularity of stolen weapons among criminals, Federal agents are considering stolen weapons to be one of the greatest threats for counties surrounding the coast.
“Firearms often are stolen in burglaries of homes and vehicles. However, criminals have shown more interest lately in stealing guns and targeting federal licensed firearms dealers in South Mississippi, said Joel Lee of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.”
Out of 3,439 guns stolen in Mississippi, 592 of them were taken from gun dealers. This ranks Mississippi as ninth state nationwide (in 2012) in number of firearms stolen.