SAN ANTONIO -- Bexar County Sheriff Office detectives have a strong warning for you: be very careful about the kinds of stickers you put on your car. They tell News 4 San Antonio exclusively that burglars are targeting vehicles with very specific stickers, anything that indicates there may be weapons inside your car or truck.
You see National Rifle Association stickers and hunting stickers everywhere, but when it comes to criminals, law enforcement officials see them as red flags.
"They're looking for any indicator of what type of property might be in the car," says a BCSO detective who works undercover. He adds his team is seeing a huge jump in the number of vehicle burglaries in and around the county where thieves are looking for one thing: weapons.
"They would smash the window, search the vehicle. They would take the fire arm out, steal the firearm and leave behind other expensive items such as phones and computers and things like that." He's seen dozens of incidents in the past month.
So why now? In the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre this past December -- looming gun control legislation on capitol hill has criminals looking ahead. They see the demand for firearms on the black market, and right now, business is booming.
"The street price for firearms is rising pretty quickly," our source says.
This detective says they're not just looking for guns in your car, they're also breaking into your home to hunt for guns.
"I think that if you have a firearm-related sticker, it is reasonable for a burglar to assume that you have a firearm either in your vehicle or in your home."
The detective recommends taking those stickers down.
