Thieves burglarize, steal guns from Sumter's Simpson Hardware and Sporting Goods

Burglars broke into and stole more than two dozen long guns from Simpson Hardware and Sporting Goods in Sumter early Wednesday morning.

Surveillance video shows five people breaking the glass of a front entry of the popular and long-established hardware store on Wesmark Boulevard before 4:30 a.m. Aug. 16, according to Tonyia McGirt, public information officer for the Sumter Police Department. The thieves then went to the gun counter and took more than 20 long guns before leaving.

McGirt wrote in a news release that up to $5,000 is being offered for information that leads to arrests in the incident. All five suspects were wearing dark-colored hoodies and gloves.

Those identified face charges including burglary and first-degree larceny.

Information on the cost of damage to the store, which was founded in 1951 with the purchase of a hardware store on Broad Street, was not immediately known. The brand, started by the late Carl Simpson Jr., has seen multiple locations come, go, burn and remain, with the original West Liberty Street store becoming the first ACE Hardware in South Carolina. The Wesmark location opened in 2002.

Anyone who might have seen anything – vehicles or people – Wednesday morning near the business, has information related to the burglary or knows who was involved is asked to call the police department at (803) 436-2700.

Tips can be given by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC, online at www.P3tips.com or by downloading and using the P3tips app. Crime Stoppers does not release the names of people who provide information.

The last time a large theft of firearms made Sumter headlines was when a man pleaded guilty in 2018 for stealing 69 handguns worth $20,000 from Tony’s Guns and Police Supply in 2016. According to Item archives, the 24-year-old pleaded guilty to federal charges.