Police seek suspects in major gun theft from Mountain View Sports

Police are asking for public help finding two men who broke into a South Anchorage outdoor-goods store and stole every handgun in stock, before driving away in a white pickup early Thursday.

According to a police statement, officers responded to an alarm at Mountain View Sports, 11124 Old Seward Highway near O'Malley Road, at about 3:45 a.m. Thursday. A glass door at the store, as well as a number of glass display cases, had been shattered.

Dan Jordan, the gun manager at Mountain View Sports, said the thieves took the store's entire inventory of pistols — more than 20 weapons — and nothing else.

"There was thousands and thousands of dollars' worth," Jordan said. "I had a $1,500 pistol in there; I had a $3,000 pistol in there that was on consignment, a rare antique gun."

A surveillance video posted on Mountain View Sports' Facebook page shows the suspects picking up a rock, which Jordan said they had just thrown through a side door, and using it to break open display cases for the pistols. The guns had been cabled together to deter theft during business hours, but one of the suspects seen in the video uses the cable to lift all of the guns from a case simultaneously.

"They knew exactly what they wanted," Jordan said. "These guys were in here perhaps 45 seconds, tops, and out."

Police said no suspects were found during an initial search of the area.

Because more than 10 guns were taken, Jordan said, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also investigating the break-in. The store has provided a list of the weapons' serial numbers and descriptions to police and the bureau.

Anyone with information on the suspects or their whereabouts is asked to contact police at 907-786-8900 or Anchorage Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP or its website.

Mountain View Sports is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the break-in suspects.