Chandler police looking for burglar who stole Hello Kitty AR-15
Aug 27, 2019, 4:00 PM | Updated: Aug 30, 2019, 8:23 pm
(Chandler Police Photo)
(Chandler Police Photo)
This cat burglar may not realize what they’ve dug their claws into.
“More than likely, these weapons were stolen to be resold,” says Chandler Police Detective Seth Tyler. “And I would also guess that the person who committed this burglary really didn’t know what they got.”
A home near Chandler Boulevard and Kyrene Road was burglarized sometime over the weekend of June 22, 2019. The home belongs to a gunsmith and gun collector, and a lot of weapons were stolen.
“Most of them are long guns, carbines or rifles,” says Tyler. “Some of them were very rare and one or two of them are very unique, as well.”
Like the pink Hello Kitty semi-automatic. It’s an AR-15 rifle with a pink stock, pink grip and pink magazine. It also has a scope.
Tyler says anybody who knows anything about guns is going to understand how special some of these are, and they may show up for sale at gun shows.
“For those that are more than just novices to weapons, they would immediately recognize that some of these are very rare and unique,” says Tyler.
The cache of weapons carries a steep price tag. The value of the 13 guns has been estimated to be at least $10,000 but probably more because some of them are so unusual they’re difficult to put a dollar amount on.
Learn more about the case here.
“Sanrio®, the owner of the famous Hello Kitty® character, has informed us this weapon was customized without Sanrio’s permission; Sanrio is in no way affiliated with any gun manufacturers or customizers; and Sanrio has never authorized the use of its Hello Kitty character on firearms or other weapons,” Sanrio® said in a statement.
