One Rego Park man allegedly turned his apartment into an arsenal.
Guo H. Shou was arrested this week after police found an assortment of guns, hundreds of pounds of gun powder and 45,000 rounds of ammunition in his home at a Wetherole Street apartment building.
According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, the NYPD conducted an administrative pistol licensee review at Shou’s residence on Feb. 8. During the visit, police said, officers allegedly saw hundreds of pounds of smokeless gunpowder, an assault rifle and high-capacity magazines and ammunition laying in plain sight, Brown said.
The discovery led police to obtain and execute a full search warrant of the premises, during which authorities recovered 14 licensed handguns, two loaded licensed handguns and one licensed rifle – all of which were not properly secured.
The NYPD and agents from the Department of Homeland Security also recovered approximately 45,000 rounds of ammunition from a variety of weapons, 225 pounds of smokeless gun powder stored in various containers, unassembled lower and upper parts for an AR-10 and AR-15 assault rifles and three high-capacity magazines.
Protective gear was also found on the property, including two Kevlar body armor suits, six Kevlar armor plates in addition to one ammunition press, numerous primers, empty cartridges and various other devices and components of ammunition. Five computers were also seized.
“It is extremely disturbing to find such a lethal arsenal of this magnitude in a residential community – especially one less than two blocks from an elementary school,” Brown said. “Alone, the amount of gunpowder discovered was capable of igniting and causing significant damage to not only the defendant’s apartment but to neighboring apartments and the building’s exterior walls, as well as injuring or killing anyone unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity.”
On Feb.9, Shou was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. His bail was set at $250,000 and he is expected to appear in court on Feb. 24.
If convicted, Shou faces up to seven years in prison.
