Posted on 05/11/2014 4:52:33 PM PDT by KeyLargo
13 assault rifles stolen from Chicago rail yard
Posted: May 09, 2014 4:16 PM CST Updated: May 10, 2014 3:09 AM CST
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) -
Authorities are investigating the theft of 13 semi-automatic assault rifles from a freight train container at a South Side rail yard, the Sun-Times is reporting.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was notified about the theft of Smith & Wesson AR-15 Sport rifles in the early morning hours of May 4th, said ATF Special Agent Thomas Ahern on Friday.
Thieves had broken into a freight train car operated by Norfolk Southern Railway Corp. that was parked at a rail yard at 61st and Lafayette in the Englewood neighborhood, Ahern said. They then broke into the container with the weapons, Ahern said.
Authorities do not believe the thieves had prior knowledge of the gun shipment, Ahern said.
(Excerpt) Read more at myfoxchicago.com ...
ABC News: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local/chicago_news&id=9533218
“On Friday, federal investigators say it was probably a burglary group that stole the Smith and Wesson M&P 15 sport rifles. They were in a shipment of 50 high-capacity guns, but the rest were left behind. The guns were stolen several days ago.
“They could’ve been gym shoes or computers, it happened to be firearms,” said Thomas Ahern, ATF-Chicago.”
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“The semiautomatic rifles are popular with sportsmen and gun enthusiasts. They come equipped with 30-round magazines designed to fire what is known as NATO rounds. The 13 guns taken in Chicago are among nearly 200,000 reported stolen, lost or missing every year in the U.S.
“Any time you have a firearm of this magnitude in the hands of a criminal, yes, it’s very dangerous,” said Ahern.
Of the 200,000 guns that go missing every year, about 6,000 are stolen, most from federal firearms licensees.”
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“The guns were in a rail container parked overnight in this South Side yard. The shipment originated in Connecticut and was headed to a federally licensed gun dealer in Minnesota.
“They are bulky and hard to carry,” said Ahern.”
You must understand that the corruption that abounds in Chicago and Cook County is has been in place for over 150 years. It's web of corruption and practices touches every fiber of life in this state, either directly or indirectly.
Doesn’t sound right to me. At that time Capone, or anyone for that matter, could have walked into a hardware store and bought all of the Thompson’s they wanted for about (IIRC) $30 a copy. No questions asked.
An assault rifle is defined has a individual shoulder mounted firearm firing an intermediate powered cartridge that is CAPABLE OF SELECTIVE FIRE or semi-auto fire whether that capability is full automatic, burst type or both. Without that select fire capability IT IS NOT AN ASSAULT RIFLE.
Gun grabbers love to pile on with inaccuracies to scare the sheeple.
OH NO!!!!!!! THE CHILDREN!! THE CHILDREN!! THE CHILDREN!!
Actually, a Model 1921 Thompson sub-machine retailed for about $225-$250 back in the 1920’s. Pretty pricey for the average guy. Most were purchased by folks with “deep pockets”.
Trains are broken into all the time. Federal law prohibits locking freight cars, so they just put bands on the door to see if they’ve been broken into. They hit the jackpot this time. They probably took all they could carry.
Brilliant! What is the rationale behind that?
“What is the rationale behind that?”
It’s an old law to keep people from being locked in and dying. It sounds like the guns were in a locked container inside the boxcar.
“The Save The Hobos Act of 1979”
Your figure of $30 for a Thompson in the 1920s is NOT correct. A Colt's Model 1921 TSMG cost $200 (without accessories) and that was a huge amount of money in the 1920s. Only government agencies and large police departments could afford them.
The TSMG enjoyed only modest sales to various U.S. government agencies and the U.S. military. Thompson sales were so slow that the Colt Company mothballed crates and crates of these guns — until the start of World War 2. The British suddenly needed all manner of small arms and Colt's found a ready buyer for its entire inventory of Thompsons. Moreover, Auto-Ordnance received huge orders for more guns from the U.S. and foreign militaries (because it was the only SMG in production in 1940).
Through out its World War 2 production life, the Thompson was redesigned for faster and cheaper production. The hard to produce M1928 and M1928A1 models were redesigned — the expensive Lyman rear sight was replaced by a stamping; the expensive Cutts compensator was eliminated; provision for the expensive an unreliable 100 or 50-round drums was eliminated; a new, 30-round magazine was issued; the expensive Blish locking system was eliminated and the bolt assembly was totally redesigned; the detachable butt stock assembly was replaced by a simple fixed butt stock. The new TSMG was type standardized as the M1 in 1942. The M1 became the M1A1 in 1943 when the bolt was redesigned to use a fixed firing pin.
Even with wartime construction contracts and redesign the unit cost of a single M1 or M1A1 Thompson was $225 in 1943 dollars. That is why the Thompson was superseded by the M3 and M3A1 “Grease Gun” submachine guns that were made mostly from stampings. The 1943 production cost of the M3 (later M3A1) was $20.
See post #28.
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