GALLATIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Gallatin Police Department (GPD) worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to take several teenagers into custody in connection with multiple gun store break-ins across Middle Tennessee.
Around 4:30 a.m. on June 16, a red Hyundai Elantra — which was stolen from Nashville — was reportedly used to smash through the heavily-fortified front of Sumner Gun & Supply on West Main Street in Gallatin.
Video shows the car repeatedly hitting the door and wall, getting deeper into the business each time. Finally, there was enough room for the four masked and hooded suspects to get into the store, grab expensive weaponry, and get away before officers arrived at the scene.
According to authorities, the teens used a second stolen vehicle to leave from the gun store. Then, they allegedly drove to another car, which was also stolen out of Nashville, and used that third vehicle to make their eventual escape.
Meanwhile, police said the stolen guns were valued at more than $10,000.
Investigators said the bandits in the video were 14-year-old and 15-year-old members of a gang known as Los Diablos, who use the devil horn as a gang sign.
According to officials, the teens are here from Central American countries, like Honduras and El Salvador, for the express purpose of committing crimes.
“These suspects are going to be juveniles. They’re undocumented Hispanic males; are from Honduras and El Salvador; and they are undocumented here committing car thefts, burglarizing businesses for weapons. That’s their main goal,” explained GPD Capt. Lamar Ballard. “They are gang-affiliated. There’s no doubt about this. They have been committing crimes for at least a year that we know of.”
Within two days of the Father’s Day burglary, members of the GPD and ATF went to La Vergne and Antioch to arrest three of the four teenagers.
During the raid, investigators said they found a semi-automatic rifle and a white shotgun that were taken in the June 16 burglary at Sumner Gun & Supply. Authorities also discovered other weapons that were taken from the same gun store during another violent smash-and-grab last June.
Police told News 2 the bandits from the June 2023 burglary were the same suspects who struck the Gallatin gun store earlier this month.
“They’re out here selling weapons on the street,” Ballard said. “They’re out stealing weapons to sell them on the street.”
Officials said the fourth suspect, a 15-year-old, has been identified and he will also be arrested.
Due to the violence involved and the repetitive nature of the crimes, authorities said they will urge the District Attorney’s office to pursue adult charges against these teenagers, who are currently in being held in youth detention facilities.
Investigators told News 2 that establishing parental custody has been very difficult because there is no legitimate paper trail.
According to police, one of the teens claimed his father died and his mother is still in El Salvador, adding that he lives with his aunt. However, there is no paperwork to prove any custody.
Another teen said his mother is also in Honduras and his father is somewhere in Shelbyville. Again, there is no official paperwork to prove custody.
As for the third teen, his mother was apparently in the home where he lives.
Ballard said determining any criminal history for these suspects is even more difficult due to this documentation issue.
According to Ballard, one of the 15-year-olds has already been arrested multiple times for similar crimes and released by those jurisdictions.
Meanwhile, another 15-year-old was allegedly involved in a gun store burglary in La Vergne this year and was in possession of weapons from that burglary. Ballard said the same teen was caught in a stolen car in Nashville with stolen guns, but after the Metro Nashville Police Department spiked the vehicle, the teen fled on foot. He was eventually captured, but he was later released.
As of this writing, the gun store is open, but the owners told News 2 the front will be even more heavily-fortified.
News 2 reached out to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) about the teenagers and received this statement: “The goal of the department is to find the best placement options that meet the unique needs of each child placed into our care, regardless of their immigration status.”
