On May 14, 2026, at approximately 4:56 PM, officers with the Santa Maria Police Department’s Gang Suppression Team (GST) conducted a probation compliance check at a residence in the 300 block of Lolita Avenue involving a known juvenile gang member.
During the search, officers located a loaded short-barreled assault rifle concealed in the attic above a laundry room. Officers also recovered a rifle suppressor, an extended loaded Glock magazine, and additional ammunition.
The juvenile was taken into custody without incident. Santa Barbara County Probation was notified, and the juvenile was booked into Santa Barbara County Juvenile Hall on multiple weapons-related charges.
The Santa Maria Police Department remains committed to removing illegal firearms from our community and addressing gang-related criminal activity.
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Imagine if we actually cared about keeping guns out the hands of criminals and kids.
Trump DOJ is actually going the opposite direction: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-blanche-newly-confirmed-atf-head-cekada-propose-gun-regulation-rollbacks See also about now allowing people to get guns who had been found unsuitable: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-publishes-proposed-rule-grant-relief-certain-individuals-precluded
Wow, where did a kid get an automatic rifle (assault rifle)? That’s a very difficult weapon to obtain. Mmmmmmm
A quick Google image search suggests that the firearm appears to be a semi-automatic rifle; not an assault rifle. An “assault rifle” is a fully automatic firearm (machine gun, for all the old timers). If that Google’s identification is correct, it suggests that the reporter or police liaison either does not know the difference or is deliberately using misleading terminology.
Either way, I’m glad they stopped him before he did any damage. Kudos to SMPD.
You’re clearly unfamiliar with firearms nomenclature.
Legally, it is an assault rifle.
https://oag.ca.gov/firearms/regs/genchar2
That web page describes the politically and legally contested term “assault WEAPONS,” not “assault RIFLE.” It’s right in the title, “Assault WEAPONS Characteristics”.
“According to the Britannica and military manuals, an assault rifle is a selective-fire weapon—meaning it is capable of BOTH FULLY AUTOMATIC and semi-automatic fire.”
The article incorrectly called it an “assault RIFLE.” Even Google AI often confuses the terms, though it will concede the error when confronted with the incorrect use of “or” instead of “and” in defining semi-automatic versus fully automatic/selective-fire criteria.
I’m not making it up, I’m looking it up.
You’re regurgitating propaganda.