A Santa Clara police officer managed to interrupt a burglary at an indoor shooting range.
The thieves were so surprised, they ended up dropping several guns they had just stolen.
The incident began when the officer was doing his routine patrol just before 4 a.m. Tuesday when he came across the burglars at Reeds Indoor Shooting Range.
He pulled into the shooting range just as burglary suspects were trying to leave with multiple stolen weapons.
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“At that time when they observed the officer they dropped several items they were holding and fled the scene which led to a vehicle pursuit,” said Richard Fitting, captain of the Santa Clara Police Department.
The officer chased the suspects for several miles, but ultimately stopped, saying it simply became too dangerous.
“Because of the speed and risk to public with the suspects not heeding traffic signals the officer ceased the pursuit,” said Fitting.
Reeds was temporarily closed Tuesday afternoon.
It’s not the first time the business has been targeted. Police said Reeds was burglarized in 2013 and said there have been four attempted burglaries there in the past 10 years.
Police are not saying how many suspects they are looking for or releasing a vehicle description because they believe it might compromise their investigation.
“This was a brazen burglary, the theft of firearms is most concerning,” said Fitting. “But we applaud our officer for being proactive with patrols and interrupting this crime.”
Police said Reeds is doing inventory to determine just how many guns were stolen and whether they all ended up dropped in the parking lot when police showed up.
