Bradenton police say lock your cars and lock up your guns

BRADENTON, Fla. — Bradenton police are warning residents to lock up their cars after a jump in the number of vehicle burglaries.

It’s a trend seen before in Bradenton and across the country by law enforcement.

“Historically, vehicle burglaries tend to go up over the summer months and that has happened not only here in Bradenton, but nationwide," police spokesperson Meredith Censullo said.

Nine vehicles were broken into last week, compared to two cars the weeks before. Among the items stolen were three guns.

So far this year, there have been 15 guns stolen from vehicles in Bradenton. It is the same number of guns stolen from vehicles in Bradenton in all of 2023.

“We tend to think of locking our cars at the end of the day, when we’re home, heading to bed," she added. "But sometimes these crimes will happen in an instant where folks take their kids to the playground or maybe they are going to have a round of pickleball or something.”

A report released by “Everytown for Gun Safety” shows how alarming of a problem this has become nationwide:

• On average, at least one gun is stolen from a car every nine minutes in the united states.
• The rate of gun thefts from cars is triple what it was a decade ago. This includes both consistent increases nearly every year over the decade and a marked spike during the pandemic.
• A decade ago, roughly a quarter of gun thefts were from cars; in 2022, over half were.
• Cars parked at residences are the most common source of stolen guns, demonstrating the importance of securely storing guns at all times and locations.

“Reality is, most often when guns are stolen from a vehicle they go straight out onto the street and then they are often used to commit a violent crime," Censullo said.