100,000 bullets, five assault guns stolen from SC gun show

More than 100,000 rounds of ammunition and five assault-style weapons were stolen from the Jamil Temple, outside Columbia, where a gun show was taking place over the weekend.

Roughly 40,000 rounds of the ammunition stolen was 5.56mm ammo — the type of bullets used in AR-15 assault-type rifles in numerous U.S. mass killings, according to law enforcement. About 60,000 rounds of .308-caliber ammunition, used to hunt big game, also was stolen, according to an incident report.

The assault-style guns taken resemble AR-15s but are variants of the military rifle, according to an incident report.

The ammo and guns stolen were worth more than $19,000, police say.

The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department is investigating. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives is also involved in the investigation.

“We responded to the Jamil Temple parking lot Saturday morning after several thefts were called in,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said after repeated requests by The State for comment Monday.

“Several people had items stolen from their trailers parked overnight Friday. Each victim was part of the event and storing merchandise in the trailers,” Koon said.

Ammunition stored in bags, cans or cases was stolen from two trailers, Koon said.

“Five firearms were also stolen from one of the trailers,” Koon said. “They’ve all been entered into a national database as stolen.”

Brand names of stolen assault-style guns included a Ruger Elite, two Rock Rivers, one CMMG MK4 and a Fire for Effect 5.56mm pistol.

Koon said investigators have collected potential evidence from some of the trailers and other items left behind. He urged anyone with information to contact the sheriff’s department.

Jamil Temple has a large open hall that its owners, the Shriners, rent out to various shows throughout the year to raise money for sick, injured and disabled children.

The gun show is one of the Shriners’ most popular events and attracted an estimated 2,500 people over the weekend, said Shriner spokesman Dwight Harsey.

Harsey said there is security to prevent thefts, provided by the show promoters, inside the Shriner’s hall, where the gun show, with its numerous vendors, took place.

“There’s plenty of security on the inside,” Harsey said. “I don’t know why they wouldn’t have any security on the outside.

“But then, I don’t know why anybody would be leaving stuff like that out there in a trailer backed up against the tree line.”

This story was originally published August 6, 2018 at 4:11 PM with the headline "100,000 bullets, five assault guns stolen from SC gun show."