SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — Shelby County deputies say there’s one simple thing drivers aren’t doing that’s leading to more guns on the street: lock your doors.
From Jan. 1 through mid-May, 206 car burglaries were reported in unincorporated Shelby County, the area that falls outside cities’ jurisdiction.
Investigators say of those 206 reports, 157 turned out to be actual car burglaries — and 97 of those cars were unlocked. That accounts for nearly two-thirds of auto break-ins.
What’s worse, some of those unlocked cars had guns in them.
In fact, deputies say in all, 36 guns in were stolen in those car break-ins and are now in the hands of criminals.
Deputies say they’re crunching the data and then correlating it to who the problems are in these areas.
Memphis Police also say they’ve also seen a steady rise in guns stolen out of cars over the past few years, ever since lawmakers made it legal to keep firearms in vehicles without a carry permit.
Bevelry Myers was a teen when thieves ransacked her car outside the Mid-South Coliseum. She got lucky and got all her belongings back, but she said she learned a valuable lesson that day.
“Lock your doors. Don’t leave anything sitting on your seat that’s valuable,” she said.
