MARSHALL — Over the past five years, there have been a few firearm thefts that have gotten media attention in the Marshall area. But while incidents like the recent burglary and gun theft at Borch’s Sporting Goods are high-profile, law enforcement officials say they’re not common in Marshall.

“For us, it’s still a relatively rare thing,” Marshall Public Safety Director Rob Yant said. The burglaries at Borch’s — one reported earlier this month, one in 2014, and one in 2013 — are some of the most notable incidents in recent years, he said.

Burglars can go after firearms, especially handguns, from stores for a number of reasons, Yant said.

“Guns are valuable for the criminal because they might use it, and there’s a lot of desire for it, so they can sell it relatively readily,” he said. Stolen firearms can travel a long way from where a burglary took place.

In Lyon County, reported gun thefts have tended to be from residences, instead of businesses, said Lyon County Sheriff Mark Mather. Circumstance or convenience for a burglar can make firearms more vulnerable to being stolen.

“Sporadically, what happens is people won’t record the serial numbers (of their guns) or lock the guns in a safe,” Mather said. Not having serial numbers makes stolen weapons harder for law enforcement to track.

The number of firearms stolen in gun store burglaries went up in the U.S. last year, from 4,721 in 2015 to 7,488 in 2016, according to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives’ annual Federal Firearms Licensee Theft/Loss report. The report, released in April, listed the number of guns reported lost or stolen from federally licensed businesses.

In Minnesota, the number of guns stolen in burglaries went up, while the number of burglaries went down. According to the report, there were five gun store burglaries reported in 2015, with a total of 16 firearms stolen. In 2016, there were four gun store burglaries reported, with a total of 119 firearms stolen.

For individual gun owners, security is an important precaution against theft, local law enforcement officials said.

“The most important thing is to record the serial numbers” of firearms, Mather said. Mather and Yant also recommended keeping firearms in a safe and storing them separately from ammunition.

“Obviously, the more secure you can keep it, the better,” Yant said.