Tulsa Police Investigate Vehicle Break-Ins After Gun Show

Tulsa Police are looking for the thieves who broke into many vehicles and stole several guns.

Officers say the thieves hit vehicles of people from out of town who were staying in hotels during a gun show at the fairgrounds last weekend.

Mike Keleher is from Illinois and says he and a friend were in Tulsa for the gun show. The thieves did not get away with their guns, but did leave thousands of dollars in damage to their truck.

Tulsa Police worry those stolen guns are now in the hands of criminals.

Dashcam video shows thieves breaking into a vehicle at the Holiday Inn hotel near 81st and Mingo.

Police say they targeted vehicles owned by people in town for a gun show at the Tulsa fairgrounds.

"They had pried the topper up and pulled it clear off the outer edge of the truck on the opposite side," Keleher said.

He says he and a friend were excited to come to Tulsa to attend the gun show for the second time. They were staying at a different hotel and woke up to find their car badly damaged.

Keleher says they didn't have any guns in the truck, but his friend is now on the hook for $8,000 in repairs.

"They spent a lot of time on the ground, they didn't worry about cameras, they knew how to access trucks and look in the hidey-holes," he said.

Tulsa Police say thieves broke into about 15 cars just at the Holiday Inn alone. They say the thieves got away with valuables left inside, including several guns.

"Now whether they knew there were guns in the car or had been following these people, we don't know yet," said Capt. Richard Meulenberg.

He says the big worry is that the stolen guns will be used in other crimes.              

"Who knows where it's going to go? It could go end up killing somebody. These are going to fall into the wrong hands--these are not responsible gun owners."

Meulenberg is hopeful someone will recognize the people in the video and come forward with information.         

Police say they know these victims were from out of state but crimes like this are preventable. The simplest thing you can do is take valuables and guns inside with you.

Tulsa Police say they are offering a reward for any information that leads to the arrest of the people seen in the videos. You can call Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.