SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT -- For the second time this week, police say someone broke into a gun shop in central Pennsylvania.
Police in South Williamsport are working with federal investigators. They are looking into whether a theft in Lycoming County is connected to another gun shop burglary about 50 miles away.
Officers were called to Sauers Trading in South Williamsport early Saturday morning. It’s just one day after another gun store burglary in Tioga County.
“It's kind of concerning because you do not know what the people are going to use the guns for,” said James Artley of Milton.
Workers swept shattered glass and boarded up a broken window Saturday afternoon. Police in South Williamsport tell us it will take a complete inventory of Sauers Trading to determine exactly how many firearms were stolen.
Authorities are investigating whether this crime is connected to a burglary discovered Friday at a gun shop about 50 miles away. Troopers in Tioga County say 36 weapons are missing from GNR Sporting Goods just outside Mansfield.
“We will consult with the investigators that were involved in the Mansfield burglary of the gun shop up there and compare notes and see if there was anything that might be related to that,” said South Williamsport Police Chief Robert Hetner.
Hetner said information from the stolen weapons will be entered into state and federal databases.
Some people we spoke with in South Williamsport were alarmed by the news.
“I don't like the idea of people walking around carrying guns all the time, especially those that have been stolen, because you wonder what they are going to do with them,” said Brenda Harrison of Lewisburg.
“With all the gun shootings and everything it's frightful because you don't know who is going to be next,” Lisa Artley of Milton said.
Gary Bachman of Collinsville insists he's not too concerned about the crimes.
“I've got weapons to defend myself, so I am not worried,” he said.
The store's owner, Jon Sauer did not want to comment on the investigation.
Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to call police in South Williamsport at 570-327-8152.