http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-gun0114,0,3773430.story
Howard County police are investigating the theft of a gun, ammunition and other property taken overnight from two marked police cars parked three streets apart in Elkridge.
Police believe the thefts are linked. In both cases, someone broke a window on the cruiser to gain access. The suspect forcibly removed a secured and locked gun, ammunition, blank police forms and a police baseball cap from one car, said police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn. The gun was secured in a locked rack affixed to the car's interior, she said. The suspect stole ammunition from the other car.
Llewellyn would not say what kind of gun was taken.
"Right now our focus is finding this weapon and the person or people who took it," she said today.
The officer had followed department procedures for storing the weapon, Llewellyn said. However, because of the thefts, the agency has issued a temporary prohibition on officers storing firearms in police vehicles, Llewellyn said. Officers now will be required to take their weapons indoors and store them using trigger locks and gun lockers, she said.
Police are continuing to investigate the July theft of a computer from another police vehicle parked at police maintenance garage in the same Mayfield community. It has not been determined whether that theft is linked to most recent break-ins.
The department is offering a reward of $2,500 for information that assists in the case.