NEW BRUNSWICK GUNS AND COMPUTERS STOLEN telegraphjournal.com - Guns stolen during break-in

GRAND BAY-WESTFIELD - After a pair of break-ins in the town, police are now facing the disturbing reality that three guns and some ammunition are in the hands of thieves.

But Sgt. Gary Fournier of the RCMP said police have suspects and believe the culprits and the stolen guns will be in police hands within days.

"Hopefully, we'll have it solved very soon and have those firearms recovered," said Fournier.

"Any time firearms are unaccounted for and in the hands of somebody you don't know, there's obviously a concern for everybody."

On Thursday afternoon, two homes in Grand Bay-Westfield were broken into and three guns and ammunition were stolen from one of the homes, located on the Nerepis Road. The stolen items included a Canon camera, an Xbox 360 computer game, a Dell laptop computer and two chests.

At the house on Country Club Drive, thieves stole two Dell laptops, two iPods and even hauled away two small safes. And in a bizarre twist, even footwear was stolen.

A number of other items were also stolen from both houses.

The thefts mirrored each other since thieves went on a spree and rummaged through the houses, leaving a state of disarray in their wake.

"I suspect that that's what we're going to find at the end of the day - it's the same people responsible for both," said Fournier.

But, he said, police aren't ruling out the possibility that the similarities in both break and enters are coincidental. The safes, he said, were likely taken away to be opened later.

"Maybe they didn't have the time to access the safes while they were in there doing the break and enters and they needed that time without looking over their shoulders."