PHOENIX — Large sheets of plywood stand in place of where Josh Kuk’s front windows and door used to be at his firearm store in Phoenix.
“Our blood sweat and tears are really in this place,” Kuk said.
Kuk opened Phoenix Gun Co. in 2020 and the storefront near 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard has been home base for seven months.
“We spent six weeks on my hands and knees grinding concrete, painting concrete, building. We had a lot of help in the process too,” Kuk said. “Just to see it all kind of go down in 40 seconds is just so hard to even comprehend.”
The front of Kuk’s store was dismantled Saturday morning around 4:40 a.m. when a car backed through the secured glass door and black security gates Kuk and his brother-in-law welded themselves.
Kuk recalls waking up to the notification of the alarm going off on his phone.
“It’s hard to explain the feeling when you’re not here and you see people kind of invading your space,” Kuk said.
WATCH SECURITY FOOTAGE OF BURGLARY:
Four people piled out of the car that backed through the storefront, stealing what they could.
“About $1,000 worth of merchandise,” Kuk said.
However, what they didn’t make off with is what Kuk said he spends an hour a day taking out and locking back up.
"The most important thing is that the guns haven't been taken," Kuk said.
Those were secure, despite the burglars’ efforts.
Brendan Iber, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Phoenix Field Division said there have been a handful of gun shops being broken into.
But the extra hour Kuk spent a day, makes a difference.
“Just last week there was two in the Valley here that secure their firearms. So these criminals broke into the store. But the Federal Firearms Licensees did such a great job - they had it locked up and secured,” Iber said. “And they went in there and they did not get any firearms, which is fantastic.”
Still, the damage remains at Kuk’s store.
“The pennies they stole caused, you know, $20,000 plus in damage and puts me out of business for one to two months,” said Kuk, who’s a single father.
With the repairs coming out of his pocket, a family member started a GoFundMe to help pay for the expenses to get Kuk’s store reopened.
Now, Kuk’s hoping someone recognizes whoever did this and calls Phoenix Police or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.
“We just want these gentlemen caught,” Kuk said. “So we're hoping that any tips from seeing the video, please reach out to the Silent Witness line and we just really want these caught so no one else has to go through this.”