$10,000 reward offered in theft of rifles from Army base

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

A $10,000 reward has been offered for information in the July 15 theft of 27 rifles from Ft. Irwin, officials announced Friday.

Twenty-six AK-47 rifles and a Dragunov rifle were stolen from a supply warehouse at the Army post at Ft. Irwin, in the Mojave Desert near Barstow. 

Officials from several different agencies have investigated the theft, and said Friday that an undisclosed number of arrests have been made and one of the rifles recovered. Investigators are now asking the public's help in identifying other people who might have been involved and in finding the other 26 weapons.

"Community participation is necessary to improve the likelihood that [officials] will track down the firearms as well as the criminals who have sought to destabilize our community through illegal activity," said John A. Torres of the Los Angeles Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call (800) 283-4867 or Ft. Irwin at (760) 380-5812. The reward is for information leading to an arrest, officials said.

For the record, 5:02 p.m. July 29: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified the weapons as AK-74 rifles, based on a news release from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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Photo: A soldier walks past a dome shelter powered by solar panels and a wind turbine at Ft. Irwin in the Mojave Desert near Barstow.

Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times