Seven teenagers are in custody in Fairfax County, Virginia, suspected in a crime spree that included a gun store burglary.
About 2:30 a.m. Sept. 18, a stolen Kia was used to smash into Dominion Defense in Lorton, police said. Teenagers ran into the store and stole 14 guns.
“That was a brazen crime committed – tragically, sadly – by teenagers,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said.
The crime spree began before that burglary with the armed robbery of a teenager at Springfield mall.
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The violence escalated after the gun store burglary with the shooting of a 19-year-old man in Lorton, police said. Gunfire hit two homes in Springfield.
On Sept. 20, a teen was abducted at gunpoint in Reston, police said. A video was made of him being assaulted with firearms.
The next day, bullets struck another home, and an AR-style weapon stolen from the gun store was used in a robbery in Hybla Valley, police said.
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Special agent Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said gun store break-ins involving teenagers is a troubling trend.
“We certainly have a trend of juveniles specifically breaking into these firearms licensees, and it’s not only happening here,” he said. “It’s happening across the country.”
Charges against the teenagers – the youngest of whom is just 13 – include auto theft, abduction, mob assault, firearms offenses and burglary.
Police said they recovered eight of the 14 guns and continue to track down the rest.
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