Omaha police are investigating a break-in at a home near North 24th Street where seven semiautomatic pistols valued at about $4,000 were stolen in May. Surveillance footage from a camera near the corner of the house captured three people moving in and out of the yard over the course of about an hour, though the video never shows anyone actually entering the home.
According to KETV, the incident began around 10 a.m., when two individuals first tried to break into the home's basement and failed. They then attempted to kick in the back deck door, but that effort also fell short of getting them inside.
About an hour after that initial attempt, a third person joined the pair. The video still does not show the group entering the home, but it does capture all three leaving together carrying a gray bag. Police said that bag held the seven stolen firearms, all semiautomatic pistols.
Distinct Clothing Could Help Crack the Case
Investigators are now asking anyone who recognizes the suspects' clothing to come forward. One of the three was seen wearing a distinct blue hoodie early on before switching to a gray one partway through the incident, per the station's report. All three appeared to be wearing purple latex gloves throughout.
Those details are now the clearest leads police have in identifying who pulled off the theft. Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers at 402-444-STOP, submit a tip online, or use the P3 tips app, the same outlet noted.
How Omaha's Crime Stoppers Program Works
Omaha Crime Stoppers is not run by the police department itself. As the Omaha Police Department's own policy document, hosted on PowerDMS, describes it, the program operates as a 501(c)(3) community organization with a board that includes members of the public, the media, and area law enforcement agencies. That same policy states the Crime Stoppers Board must approve all reward payments before they go out.
Reward money does not come from taxpayers or the police budget at all. Omaha Crime Stoppers says it is fully funded by private donations and receives no tax dollars, a structure it credits to the City Commission and Police Department efforts that launched the program back in 1982. The organization says it has approved more than $1 million in rewards since 2014 alone.
Tips Have Paid Off Before
The program's track record in recent years has been substantial. In 2025, tips led to 46 arrests, including two solved homicides, and helped get four illegal firearms off the streets, according to a separate KETV report on how tipsters stay anonymous. Those tips also resulted in $81,650 in payouts that same year, the report noted.
Gun thefts tied to burglary rings have surfaced before in the Omaha area. A separate KETV investigation found that the same three people responsible for burglarizing gun stores in Omaha and Council Bluffs used stolen vehicles to smash their way into businesses including MS Guns near 90th and J streets and Red Flag Armory on Main Street. In that case, the thieves made off with at least four rifles, including two AK-47s and two AR-15s, along with handguns stuffed into backpacks.
It remains unclear whether the North 24th Street case is connected to any prior gun thefts in the metro. For now, police are relying on the public to help put names to the faces and clothing caught on camera outside the home.
