Shotgun stolen out of deputy's patrol car in Pryor

PRYOR, Okla. — Pryor Creek Police are looking for the person or people responsible after multiple cars were broken into on Sunday night.

Two of the cars involved had guns stolen from them with one being a Delaware County deputy’s vehicle.

FOX23 spoke to Pryor Creek Police Chief Jeremy Cantrell who said car break-ins are pretty typical in the summer, but when it comes to stealing firearms, especially one from law enforcement, it ups the severity of the situation.

“When something like this happens, it's frustrating and quite frankly it goes to top priority to catch these people,” Cantrell said.

Cantrell said on Sunday night someone broke into four cars in southeast Pryor and even stole two guns.

“Obviously with firearms involved, it does up it because now they have weapons in their possession. So we want to focus on that and get those weapons back,” Cantrell said.

Even worse, one of those was a shotgun stolen from a Delaware County Sheriff's deputy's SUV that was parked right outside their home.

“I mean, it's not just some unmarked car. This is a clearly marked patrol car. So for somebody to take those steps and do that knowing you're a police officer. Then the damage to the County property and then to steal the firearm. It really shows the mindset that you're dealing with these kinds of people,” Cantrell said.

FOX23 reached out to the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, which said the shotgun was locked and secured and the deputy was in compliance with department policy.

Cantrell said usually with break-ins, it’s unlocked cars they see getting hit, but this time that wasn't the case.

“Last night, they busted some windows out of vehicles which is not typical for what happens here. So we had three that had windows busted out and then one that was unlocked,” Cantrell said.

He said this is a frustrating situation and it is an invasion of someone's privacy.

“People work hard for their property and they should feel safe at their homes. I spoke to several people today in reference to this and we are obviously going to up patrol in that area,” Cantrell said.

Cantrell said most of the reports have been coming from the Southeast 17th Street area near Lincoln Elementary School.

If you live in that area, you are asked to check your cameras if you have them and let police know if you see anything suspicious.

Cantrell also reminds the community to remove valuables and personal belongings from vehicles.

"We urge people to keep their valuables out of their cars. A lot of people don't want to lock their cars because they say they can bust your windows out. Typically that doesn't happen, typically people lock their cars," Cantrell said.

Cantrell said you have to know one important thing about your firearm in case this happens to you.

"If you have a firearm or anything that has a serial number or identifying marks, make sure you keep that in safe keeping in your house. That way if something does happen with that weapon or any valuable, we can enter it as stolen in our NICIC system. Then if any law enforcement officer in the country comes across that, they can run that serial number and it's going to show stolen so we can get back to where it belongs," Cantrell said.

At this time they don't have any suspects and are asking the public for help.

If you know anything about the break-ins or have a ring camera that might have any video capturing the possible suspects, call Pryor Creek Police Department at 918-825-1212.