Maumelle police are asking the public for help finding a suspect after a firearm was allegedly stolen from a vehicle in the area. Officers reported sightings near Riverland Drive and in the Crystal Hill area of North Little Rock.
According to THV11, the Maumelle Police Department confirmed the firearm was taken from a vehicle in the area, though the outlet's report does not specify when the theft or the reported sightings took place. Police have not released a description, name, or age for the suspect, and those details remain unknown.
Suspect Seen in Two Separate Areas
Officials say the suspect was seen near Riverland Drive and in the Crystal Hill area of North Little Rock, per the same THV11 report. The reported sightings were at two locations.
The reported theft involved a firearm, and Maumelle police are asking the public for tips.
The Maumelle case sits within a broader pattern of firearms being taken from vehicles. An analysis of FBI data from 159 cities found that the rate of gun thefts from cars tripled between 2013 and 2022, rising from an estimated 21 to 63.1 thefts per 100,000 people. Those figures cover the cities in the analysis, not Maumelle specifically, and do not establish a local trend. The analysis of FBI-reported thefts also found that more than half of reported gun thefts in 2022 involved cars.
How to Report Information
Anyone with information on the suspect's whereabouts is asked to contact the Maumelle Police Department's tipline at (501) 483-6900. The department has not said what charges, if any, could follow an arrest, and the circumstances surrounding the alleged theft, including what type of firearm was taken, have not been made public.
Maumelle police also accept information through an online crime-tip form, which allows people to submit files such as photos, video or audio. The department cautions that the form is not monitored around the clock and directs people to call 911 for emergencies. The department’s tip-submission page provides the online option alongside the phone number listed in its request for information.
Arkansas does not require firearm owners to report a gun’s loss or theft to law enforcement, a state-level rule that differs from the police department’s request for tips in this case. The absence of a statewide reporting requirement does not mean owners cannot report a theft; it means the law does not mandate that report. Arkansas’s lost-and-stolen firearm reporting law is summarized by the Giffords Law Center.
Police are seeking information to help locate the suspect.
