Orange County Sheriff Loses AR-15 Assault Rifle; Concerns Rise As Weapon Could Fall In Hands Of Murderer

Los Angeles, Calif. — An Orange County deputy sheriff reported Wednesday that he lost track of his police-issued assault rifle. It may have been stolen or simply fell out of their patrol car. The deputy, who was not identified by the Aliso Viejo Station where he works, told his superiors that he remembers putting the gun in the trunk of his car. Around 3am, according to police, he realized that the rifle was no longer there. The Orange County Sheriff's department has asked anyone who finds the weapon to give them a call at the number listed in the press release, below.

The announcement marks at least the second time in the past year that the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has lost track of an AR-15. Another assault rifle was reported burglarized from an unmarked patrol car with a loaded 30-round magazine in July of 2015. The AR-15 is the same model of gun used in the Sandy Hook elementary shootings. It is not the same model of assault weapon used in the San Bernardino attacks. (In both of those cases, the weapons were bought legally, not lost or stolen).

Weapons lost or stolen from law enforcement have been directly tied to deaths in California, including the notorious murder of Kate Steinle. The gun used in Steinle’s death was one of around 500 reported lost or stolen by California-based cops since 2010. Nationally, Federal Firearms Licensees reported over 19,000 lost or stolen guns in 2014, according to the ATF. While blame for her death has fallen squarely on the undocumented immigrant who reportedly fired the trigger, the man said that he found the gun under a bench and it went off accidentally.

The Orange County Sheriff's department is using "all availible resources" to find the gun, retracing the deputy's steps with bloodhounds and reserve staff.