Children aged 11 and 14 accused of breaking into gun shop, stealing 22 guns

Update: At the boys’ first appearance in court Thursday morning, it was decided that both would be arraigned at 9 a.m. on July 5. Both are forbidden from having unsupervised contact with each other and will be held in secure detention for 21 days.

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Two kids have been arrested for stealing nearly two dozen guns from a firearms dealer.

The children, aged 11 and 14, are accused of breaking into Guns 4 Less on Del Prado Blvd S. in Cape Coral.

During a news conference, Cape Coral Police Department spokeswoman Julie Green said the pair tried to cut the power to the business before getting inside.

The store owner got an alert on her phone as the store was being broken into. She checked her surveillance cameras and saw the two kids inside the store. That’s when she called the police.

As police responded, they said the two kids ran in different directions; however, police were able to catch both of them and recover all the stolen items.

The back door of Guns-4-Less in Cape Coral was left damaged from the break-in. It is where Cape Coral police say the two young brothers broke in after trying to cut the power to the building.

“How did these young boys learn to even attempt to cut the power to a building? Most people aren’t going to know that,” said WINK News Safety and Security Specialist Rich Kolko.

Once inside, investigators say the two ransacked the store, smashing display cases and stealing 22 guns, ammo, and other items.

“The repercussions of these young boys having that many weapons with ammunition, it’s hard to even measure at this point. And somebody that age, you know, they just don’t understand the repercussions of pulling the trigger,” said Kolko.

Investigators pointed out that the 14-year-old is currently on probation. It stems from an incident last year at a Lee County Wawa where he threatened a cashier with a hammer as he and another boy stole e-cigarettes.

“There’s going to have to be some intervention here, whether it’s from a family member, from law enforcement, from the state, to get them off this track,” Kolko said.

Police say the 14-year-old was also responsible for another incident last year when he and another boy smashed the front door of a Lee County pawn shop.

Investigators say they’re now looking at whether or not the boys are connected to other burglaries in the area.

“Maybe even used some of the same tools. And they can check tool marks to see if the same tools were used in different robberies,” said Kolko.

WINK News tried knocking at the home where the two boys live, but no one came to the door.

Cape Coral police said this investigation is far from over.

“Did somebody else go in there and give them information on, you know, what guns were there, which guns to grab, what accessories to grab. What were they going to do with these weapons at the end of the day?” said Kolko.

WINK News isn’t naming either of the boys because of their age.

Police did not say what the two planned to do with the weapons but said the 14-year-old had a previous arrest for making threats of violence on social media.

Both face many charges, including 22 counts of grand theft of a firearm.

The owner of the store the boys broke into did not want to comment on the investigation.

According to police, the store owner said the two had been in the store in the past looking around, and they were asked to leave.

CCPD said all weapons that were taken have been accounted for.

At the boys’ first appearance in court Thursday morning, it was decided that both would be arraigned at 9 a.m. on July 5. Both are forbidden from having unsupervised contact with each other and will be held in secure detention for 21 days.