Tulsa Police Warn Gun Owners About Leaving Firearms In Cars

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Tulsa Police say more than 340 guns have been stolen from cars in the city since January. Investigators say many of those guns were taken from unlocked cars.

Lieutenant Tim Means says car break-ins make up almost half of their caseload, and a big chunk of that is guns stolen from cars. He says they get more than one stolen gun case every day.

Burglary investigators say they have 341 cases so far this year of guns being stolen from cars. That averages out to 1.25 cases per day in 2023. But investigators say sometimes, more than one gun is stolen per case.

"This problem is huge, I think, to me. It is one of those things that is preventable, and if a person is responsible with their gun, it wouldn't happen. If you leave it in your car, it is just a glass case and easy for someone to get to,” said Lieutenant Tim Means with the TPD Burglary Unit.

Means says a lot of guns are stolen along 71st, near Tulsa Hills or Woodland Hills, because people leave their guns in their cars while they shop. He says thieves also steal guns from unlocked cars in people's driveways.

"The guns that are being taken aren't just being shot at gun ranges. We've had instances where we've had an officer shot with a gun that was stolen from a car burglary. We’ve also had a homicide that happened from a car burglary,” said Means.

Local musician Nathan Hull was shot and killed outside a Tulsa bar in 2021. Police say Hull’s killer, Chris Bratton, was trying to break into cars in the bar parking lot when Hull confronted him. Investigators say Bratton had stolen the murder weapon from a car just hours before.

"He'll be forever gone. My son will be raised without a dad. His daughters will be raised without their dad,” said the mother of Hull’s son, Jessica Morrison.

Police say if you leave your gun in your car, keep it in a hidden lock box, know the serial number, and lock your doors. 

"If you don't have a serial number for your weapon that is stolen or any property that is stolen, the likelihood of you getting that back is slim to none. Because we have no way to prove it is yours,” said Means. “If it is not available for those criminals to get their hands on, then they aren’t going to have a gun.”

Bratton is now serving 40 years in prison for murdering Nathan Hull.