More than half of guns reported stolen in Durham are taken from cars, public records show

Candace Blake is a victim who had her gun stolen after she left it in her car and forget to lock it.

“Honestly, I left my gun in the car that night,” Blake said. “By the time I thought about it, the next morning, I went out to my car and noticed that it was gone.

The city had reports of 211 guns taken from January through June. Of that total, 112 guns were stolen from people’s cars. Authorities only recovered 31 of the 211 stolen guns.

Here is a look at the data by month:

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The types of weapons stolen varied and include handguns, AR-15s, pistols, rifles and an AK-47.

In some instances, thieves got multiple guns at once. Public records show that five guns were stolen from a single car. In another case, a car had two guns stolen from it with an AR-15 pistol valued at $3,000 and a handgun valued at $500.

“What makes it most frustrating for law enforcement is, for the most part, it’s very preventable, particularly, the ones that are stolen out of cars,” said Larry Smith, retired Durham Police Department deputy police chief and spokesperson for Durham's Fraternal Order of Police.

Smith said officers would often find that a gun used in a serious crime was stolen. He said the city would be safer if people properly stored their weapons.

“What happens is, now you’ve got a firearm into the hands of someone who has already committed a crime,” Smith said.

Blake said she’s worried about what someone could be doing with the gun stolen from her.

“[There is] so much going on in Durham, it’s like, I would feel bad to know if my gun was used in a crime or something like that,” Blake said.

Blake explained why she owned a gun.

“Because I live in Durham,” Blake said. “There is a lot going on in the city.

“Sometimes, I work late, and there have been a lot of things going on at my job actually in the parking lot.”

Smith said gunowners should never leave their guns in a car. However, he said if you have to or are traveling, put the gun in a locked compartment and never somewhere obvious like a center console.

As of Aug. 11, the city of Durham has reported nearly 400 shootings so far in 2022.

In 2021, Durham recorded its deadliest year yet.

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