Image via Tustin Police Department/Facebook
While there’s plenty of chaos and confusion in Southern California thanks to the wildfires, it seems someone or more likely a group of people helped themselves to some Humvees and military equipment in Orange County. The theft happened on January 8 at the Army Reserve Center in Tustin between the hours of 8 and 11 pm.
The Mexican Army is replacing its Humvees with this more modern fighting machine.
Thankfully, the Tustin Police Department says two of the three Humvees which were stolen have been recovered. After all, they’re not exactly inconspicuous vehicles, especially in full military spec with bulletproof glass and such.
From what police say, the Humvees were accessed by the thieves cutting through a chain link fence. In case you don’t know, stealing a military Humvee is quite easy, if you know how to operate them.
The two Humvees with cloth doors were recovered on January 11 in the cities of Santa Ana and Orange. However, the one with armored doors is apparently still missing.
While we see Humvee thefts now and then, this incident is a little bit different because the thieves also went inside the Army Reserve Center to pilfer additional equipment. They removed the locks off some storage lockers, although police didn’t say if there were cut off or otherwise opened (although it was mentioned they tried cutting another lock, so that’s probably how those were removed).
Police report the suspects took 8 machine gun vehicle mounts, 7 free-standing machine gun tripods, medical equipment, 40 pairs of binoculars, and 18 bayonets. That’s an interesting array of gear for someone to steal.
But the most disturbing thing about this case is that police say the suspects attempted to cut the lock on the uniform storage area, but it was unsuccessful. What were these guys planning?
Thankfully, no firearms or ammunition was stolen. Considering the suspects took equipment for machine guns, it makes us wonder if they already have those and just need mounts and tripods?
The still-missing Humvee is marked with ADMIN number HHC-06. Hopefully it, the rest of the equipment, and the thieves are located soon.
Image via Tustin Police Department/Facebook
