Bend PD: Guns being stolen from vehicles

The Bend Police Department is reminding gun owners to make sure their firearms are secure in their homes and vehicles.

Police cite an alarming statistic: At least one weapon is stolen out of an unlocked vehicle roughly every other week in the city.

Police Lt. Clint Burleigh told NewsChannel 21 on Tuesday that in the past 12 months, the department has received 21 reports of firearms stolen from vehicles.

The department offers free cable locks that citizens can pick up at their headquarters by Pilot Butte, to make sure their gun is secured.

“The goal is to make sure the weapons, when they are home, that they’re safe, and that if a child, if they find the gun, if it’s not locked up in a big safe that they won’t be able to use it,” Burleigh said.

The locks are paid for by a grant, which means they are free to gun owners.

In a note sent home to parents on Monday, Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Shay Mikalson pleaded that they “take a moment to secure weapons and pills in your homes in ways that do not allow access to children,” and mentioned the free cable locks.