Antique Machine Gun Stolen From Long Island Roof

A World War I era machine gun has vanished from from a Long Island Marine Corps facility just off of Sunrise Highway in Bay Shore.

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According to a report by Gaby Acevedo of NBC New York, law enforcement officials say the antique weapon, a World War I German MG-08 machine gun, went missing over the weekend. It had been resting on the roof of the Suffolk County Detachment of the Marine Corps in Bay Shore before vanishing.

Ironically, the antique machine gun was affixed to the roof, but according to Air Force veteran Anthony Siano, "It was originally out front but we decided to put it on the roof because we thought somebody would steal it."

It seems that fear may have been a valid one, but putting the antique machine gun on the roof didn't help much in keeping it safe from thieves. The gun is worth approximately $20,000, and whoever stole it seemed to know how valuable it is because they came prepared to move the 100 pound weapon off the rooftop.

According to the report, members of the Bay Shore Marine Corps outfit were wondering if a recent movie depicting World War I combat could have played a role in motivating the thief to steal the machine gun.

Dan Templeton, a military armaments historian with the Museum of American Armor, said " That particular machine gun would have been one of the central players in the first World War and through the second World War, as well." He also said that without the context and story behind the gun, it's just rusty metal.