MONMOUTH, Illinois -- Tac Shack Indoor Shooting Range in Monmouth was targeted by several vandals early Thursday morning, March 21, but instead of stealing cash, thieves got away with dozens of guns.
Justin Lipes, owner of Tac Shack, said surveillance video caught the vandals breaking a window to get inside. He said one by one, three thieves came into the shop with a bag and cleared two cases of firearms.
"Out they went," Lipes said. "It was literally under 2 minutes, it was about 1:20 seconds."
Chief Joe Switzer with Monmouth Police said they received a call just before 4:30 A.M.
"There were security measures in place, security measures that any other business would have," Chief Switzer said. "That's the information our detectives are trying to look at and see what we can come up with."
However, even with several cameras in place, Lipes said the thieves got away with 37 guns -- each ranging from $500 to $1,200.
"Even though we sell guns we don't want them in the wrong hands to criminals," Lipes said. "We sell to law abiding citizens - not criminals."
Lipes said after this incident, the shop will take extra steps to prevent this from ever happening again.
"We'll definitely add more surveillance. We have pretty good surveillance right now but we're going to add even more," Lipes said. "If they really want in they're going to get in, but I'm at least going to make it more difficult for them. Slow them down at least. 1 minute? That's too fast."
In total, the cost of guns stolen is estimated at nearly $25,000. However Lipes said replacing the windows and showcases is an additional cost that can hurt a small business like his.