ATF agents continue their search for more than 100 firearms stolen during Hurricane Harvey

AP Photo/Brennan Linsley

As police from around the state and nation worked to recuse flood-stranded Houstonians during Hurricane Harvey, several thieves reportedly took advantage of the chaos, stealing more than 100 untraceable firearms from gun stores and pawn shops.

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In one instance, authorities said a man stole 12 firearms from an Academy Sports and Outdoors store near the North Freeway and West Road.

On the same day, two men reportedly robbed a Cash America pawn shop on the city’s northeast side, getting away with more than 80 firearms, including shotguns, rifles and handguns.

Police say, in all, robbers hit at least six stores during the storm, taking 109 weapons.

Authorities said they further suspect nearly all of these weapons either are or will be involved in some type of violent crime.

RELATED: Chicago Gang Member Charged With Stealing 100 Guns From Freight Train

Similar situations reportedly occurred during and after major hurricanes:

In 2005, during Hurricane Katrina, robbers reportedly hit more than 30 stores and stole more than 1,000 guns around the East Texas-Louisiana region affected by the storm.

When Hurricane Ike struck Houston in 2008, records show thieves made off with more than 150 firearms.

These events prompted agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) and Explosives to make preventing and tracking down firearm thefts a higher priority:

So far, however, Houston ATF agents said they only recovered a handful of the dozens of weapons said to be stolen during Harvey, and a number of of those firearms are said to be connected to other violent crimes across the area.

In one instance two weeks after the storm, police said they arrested a man attempting an armed robbery.

His weapon: a Maverick Arms 12-gauge shotgun stolen found to be from a Houston store stolen during Harvey.

RELATED: Watch thieves and a stolen truck pull off an insane gun store burglary in less than a minute

Agents said there is some success in their attempts to connect the weapons they found from other crimes to a single source; they believe the seller potentially either participated in the robberies or knows the thieves’ identities.

The problem still remains, as dozens of weapons, many said to be untraceable, given their burgled stores’ nature, in some instances, moving from one criminal to another – passed on from one violent crime to the next.

Stay safe out there, Houston.

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