A thief broke into a residential garage near Madison and Leavitt streets on the Near West Side and stole a semi-automatic rifle, 1,000 rounds of ammunition, two magazines, and a DEA-labeled bulletproof vest from a government vehicle belonging to a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent, according to police and sources familiar with the case. Chicago police are now investigating the theft, which occurred Sunday.
According to CBS News Chicago, police said the items were stolen from the government vehicle while it sat inside the residential garage. Sources told the outlet the haul included the rifle, the ammunition, the two magazines, and the vest bearing DEA markings. The DEA is now working with Chicago police in an effort to recover the stolen gear, and the agency has launched its own internal investigation into the incident, per the same report.
A Familiar Pattern on the Near West Side
This isn't the first time federal firearms have disappeared from a vehicle in this part of Chicago. Back in July 2017, an FBI agent's SUV — loaded with an M4 rifle, two Glock handguns, ammunition, a flashbang grenade, and tactical gear — was stolen from a Near West Side gas station after being left running unattended, according to FOX 32 Chicago. That vehicle was later found abandoned near FBI Chicago headquarters, though the FBI declined to say whether the firearms had been recovered.
The new theft also raises questions about vehicle-related and property crime in the surrounding police district.
Citywide Numbers Tell a Similar Story
The theft also comes amid broader concerns about vehicle-related property crime citywide.
Firearms and tactical gear stolen from law enforcement vehicles aren't just an embarrassment for the agencies involved — they can raise public safety concerns.
Not the First Regional Case This Year
Just last month, Hoodline reported on an AR-15 rifle stolen from a Kane County Sheriff's deputy's squad car in suburban Aurora — a case that drew scrutiny after the sheriff's office delayed disclosing the theft for days. That incident, like the one now under investigation on the Near West Side, involved a break-in targeting a parked official vehicle in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Federal weapon losses can raise concerns for law-enforcement agencies.
Storage Rules and Open Questions
Illinois law includes a Safe Gun Storage Act addressing firearm storage. Proposed changes to vehicle-storage rules remain an open question.
Rules for storing firearms in unattended vehicles vary by jurisdiction, and the sources here do not establish Oakland's specific requirements or the history behind them.
It remains unclear whether the DEA vehicle involved in Sunday's theft was locked, how the residential garage was breached, or whether the stolen rifle carried any tracking technology. What internal disciplinary or storage-policy changes may follow the DEA's internal investigation has also not been disclosed.
