Reward is offered for information leading to thieves driving into the pawn shop to steal guns

NORWOOD, Ohio (WKRC) – Authorities are on the hunt for four people who brazenly rammed a stolen car through the front of a Norwood pawn shop and made off in a high-speed robbery with several firearms.

The incident, captured on security cameras, is reminiscent of a series of similar robberies that plagued the Tri-State area earlier this year.

Gabe Tincher of Ted’s Pawn Shop talked about the burglary early Saturday morning.

“Sometimes you get a lot of false alarms, but this one was different,” Tincher said.

The alarm company detected voices through the store’s security cameras. The footage showed a stolen vehicle driving through the store’s metal gate, followed by three thieves who quickly destroyed display cases.

“Within a minute they got here and destroyed one display case, the only one we had a couple of guns in,” Tincher said.

The thieves escaped with more than a half-dozen firearms, including six or seven handguns and a long rifle.

This is the first such incident for the store, which has been a Norwood fixture since 1984. Tincher noted that gun stores have been similarly targeted in recent months.

“We’ve taken a lot of extra precautions, storing firearms at night and making sure our metal gates are secure, which they drove right through,” Tincher said.

Despite the store’s best efforts, including concrete barriers at the entrance, the thieves were able to break through the front door. Since then, more barriers have been installed.

John Nokes, who oversees ATF investigations in Southern Ohio and Indiana, said:

“We’ve had eight of these incidents in the Cincinnati area since July.”

He explained that the thieves used two cars: one to ram the store and another to escape. Both vehicles have been recovered, but the suspects are still on the run.

“It’s a trend that we’re working very hard on with local law enforcement to solve and get these guns off the streets,” Nokes said.

Although it is still too early to determine whether this robbery is related to previous incidents, the search for the perpetrators continues.

“I have a building that needs repairs right now, and we have some guns on the street. I hope we can find them and nothing bad happens to those guns,” Tincher said.

The ATF and the National Shooting Sports Foundation are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to arrests. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at (513)-352-3040.