Armed And Dangerous Gun Shop Thieves On The Loose: Police

ROCKVILLE, MD — One suspect is dead and four others, who are considered armed and dangerous, are on the loose after smashing a car into a Rockville gun shop and stealing weapons Thursday morning, authorities said.

Marcus Jones — Montgomery County's acting police chief — said five suspects used a stolen car to ram into United Gun Shop around 2:30 a.m., triggering the alarm. About four minutes after the alarm was triggered, police arrived at 5465 Randolph Rd. and tried to prevent the thieves from getting away.

While fleeing the scene, the suspects rammed a second stolen getaway car at a police cruiser.

Photo of damage to the police cruiser after being rammed by the suspects in the United Gun Store Burglary and subsequent Assault on the Police Officer. pic.twitter.com/jWXEvOJJtS
— Montgomery County Department of Police (@mcpnews) June 13, 2019

Jones says the officer fired multiple shots at the car as it exited onto Randolph Road.

Later, police found the stolen vehicle was disabled near Loehmann's Plaza on Randolph Road. A man was dead inside the getaway car, Jones said. The other four suspects fled the scene.

It is not immediately known how many firearms were stolen from United Gun Shop.

However, while searching for the outstanding suspects, authorities said they found a bag of guns from the store in a resident's backyard. They also found three handguns, possibly from the store, in the vehicle on Randolph Road.

Photo of guns recovered outside the suspect vehicle that was involved in the United Gun Store Burglary and Assault on the Police Officer pic.twitter.com/voBut1s2sa
— Montgomery County Department of Police (@mcpnews) June 13, 2019

Police believe the suspects are still armed and dangerous.

"We believe the suspects that are still outstanding are armed and dangerous, and we are asking for the public's assistance to be very cautious while leaving their homes this morning or observing anything in the neighborhood that does not appear to be right," Jones said.

Jones added that a resident's home video surveillance system caught suspects in the area.

"We have also received some home video from one of the resident's here that has shown the suspects in the area earlier this morning," Jones said. "So we would beg that anyone who has home video surveillance that they may monitor it or review it to maybe see something that might be able to assist us."

Authorities are also urging anyone who sees suspicious activity to call 911 immediately. Do not confront the individuals.