Thieves took over $2,000 worth of firearms during a break-in at Ace Hardware early Monday morning.

A report said Officer Al Griffin went to the store on 537 Thomson Boulevard around 2:30 a.m. after the burglar alarm was activated.

He found a glass door on the south side of the building had been shattered.

After Sgt. David Brewington and Officer David Lee arrived the three officers entered the building to look for suspects, but saw none. Officers found a glass door on a gun cabinet had been broken out.

An estimated $2,100 worth of guns were stolen, including a Remington 870 12 gauge pump shotgun, two Mossberg 12 gauge pump shotguns, a Mossberg 20 gauge pump shotgun and a Mossberg .410 shotgun.

Officers reviewed a surveillance tape that showed three black men enter the store through the broken glass door, wearing hoodies and bandanas. They used a pair of bolt cutters to break the gun cabinet glass door. The men put the guns in a bag and left through the same door which they had entered.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call the public safety department at 429-1713 or Union County Crime Stoppers at 427-0800. A reward may be given for information leading to arrests in the case.

Strong armed robbery

A Union teen-ager is accused of taking a woman’s purse by force.

Stevie L. Harris, 17, of 215 Tate Ave., was charged Friday by the Union Public Safety Department with strong armed robbery.

An arrest warrant signed by Investigator Brian Bailey said Harris on Friday took a pocketbook containing $420 and other items from a woman on West Henrietta Street.

The 40-year-old victim told Officer Leon Lancaster she was traveling west on Henrietta Street when she had to stop for a vehicle in front of her.

A man — later identified as Harris — who was wearing a black and gold coat and a hat pulled down around his face, opened her vehicle door on the passenger’s side and took her purse.

Officer Scott Hood and Officer Eddie Williams responded to search the area and Hood found the purse behind an apartment on South Pinckney Street just a few feet from where it was stolen. The victim’s money, license and EBT card were gone.

Theft at school

Friday at Union County High School a 17-year-old student told Cpl. Jerome Beatty, school resource officer, that someone took her wallet out of her purse. She said the pink wallet had a Palmetto tree on it and contained $54, her Social Security card, school identification and family pictures.