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The Cities Blog
Brandt Williams

Police: gun burglars looking for signs of firearms

A example of a sign sold by the gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson on the web. (from http://www.smith-wesson.com/)

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Law enforcement officials say members of a north Minneapolis street gang are looking to burglarize homes that appear to contain guns.  According to a search warrant request filed recently in Hennepin County District Court by investigators with the FBI Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force, members of the Loud Pack gang, “target homes with American flags in the front yard because they believe these are homes or [sic] veterans and will have firearms inside them.  Other items they take from these burglaries are sold on the street to various people to support the activates [sic] of the gang.”

The document doesn’t say how often gang members’ strategy for finding guns was successful.  However, some say there’s a much easier way for burglars to find out which homes contain guns -- the “This home protected by (insert your gun maker here)” sticker.   Minneapolis police officials have told me those stickers can actually attract intruders, rather than repel them.

smithwesson
A example of a sign sold by the gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson on the web. (from http://www.smith-wesson.com/)

Investigators say members of the Loud Pack are particularly eager to grab guns.  They say members of the Loud Pack are former members of another north side gang called Y.N.T. (Young N Thuggin). “These members had left the Y.N.T. because they had taken guns from various members of the Y.N.T. and according [to] a confidential reliable informant (CRI) they were not trustworthy,” said the warrant.