IT’S negligence on the part of the American Gun Club to leave its firearms in an isolated area, said a former Tinian government official who declined to be identified.
“They should have relocated all those guns to a more secure area,” he added. “They know that the area is isolated but it’s like they don’t care. But the negligent part is that they knew they had all that ammunition and guns in the area, and they didn’t have security. They were using surveillance cameras for security, but those cameras are unreliable because Tinian frequently has power outages.”
The former official added, “So those guns and ammunition were bound to be…stolen because no one went to that location.”
The Tinian Department of Public Safety “also did not do their job,” he added. “The minute the gun club company stopped their operations, the police department should have done a site inspection. Tinian DPS should have intervened…to relocate those weapons to a safer place.”
Variety learned that Tinian DPS utilized the gun club for the gun certification of its officers.
American Gun Club is a subsidiary of Bridge Capital, the former official said.
In an official statement dated Sept. 2, DPS stated that on Friday, Aug. 19, at around 9:15 p.m., officers on Tinian were conducting a routine patrol throughout the island when they noticed a door left open at the American Gun Club in the Kastiyu area. Officers then radioed dispatch to contact the owners of the private shooting range.
Further investigation revealed that the shooting range had not been in operation for a few months, but the firearms and ammunitions remained stored there.
DPS said all firearms currently missing are confirmed to be privately owned. The owners of the business are working with the police to provide a list of the missing inventory, DPS added.
Variety was unable to get a comment from American Gun Club.
