Second weapons shop targeted after gun store robbed in Aussie inner suburb

SYDNEY, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Another suburban gun shop in Australia's Victoria state capital Melbourne appeared to have been targeted, less than two days after robbers took up to 65 handguns from an inner suburb firearms store, local media reported on Tuesday.

The owner of the latest incident in the city's northwestern Tullamarine area said a truck was used to "ram" his roller doors overnight although nothing was stolen, the 3AW radio station reported.

The attempt follows the heist on Monday morning, when four hooded men robbed the handguns from a shop in the Thornbury area before driving off in a stolen vehicle that was later abandoned nearby. There were no reports of injuries and police are investigating the incident.

"It's an unusual thing to see. It was a well-planned operation. Police have put a lot of additional resources onto this because of the seriousness," the radio station quoted the state's Police Minister Lisa Neville as saying.

The guns retail for between 700 Australian dollars (566 U.S. dollars) and 1,900 Australian dollars but can fetch almost 10,000 Australian dollars on the black market, the station reported.

"They've obviously targeted this particular store for the handguns and basically they'll end up on the black market," the state police's Assistant Commissioner Steve Fontana was quoted as saying.

Australia's gun laws include registration and licensing, providing valid reasons for ownership, banning semi-automatic and automatic weapons, and appropriate storage of ammunition. Enditem