Gun, credentials stolen from FBI agent’s car

A gun, law enforcement badge and credentials were stolen from an FBI agent’s car Saturday in Contra Costa County, officials said.

The items were stolen at about 12:15 p.m. on Lafayette Circle in Lafayette, according to a brief statement by the FBI’s field office in San Francisco. The agency said it is working with the Lafayette Police Department to recover the .40 caliber Glock 22 pistol, law enforcement badge and credentials “in the interest of public safety.”

It was unclear whether the items were safely stored in the vehicle or whether the agent would be disciplined for leaving them in the car.

“The investigation remains ongoing and we cannot provide further comment at this time,” the FBI said.

The incident happened in a parking lot adjacent to American Kitchen, according to the restaurant’s owner, Victor Ivry. The agent was having brunch with four other people when a person in the parking lot approached a white Kia and “smashed the right rear,” Ivry told The Chronicle. “It happened in a matter of seconds.”

Ivry said he spoke to the group after the breakin and learned that the agent was from out of town. The agent’s vehicle was the only car broken into from about 10 cars parked in the lot, he said.

The agent was not wearing any official attire that made it clear he was with the FBI, Ivry said.

Saturday’s theft was reminiscent of a 2017 incident in which a submachine gun and a bulletproof vest were stolen from a special agent’s vehicle in the ConcordOrindaLafayette area.

In September 2016, thenGov. Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring people who leave guns in unattended vehicles, including law enforcement officers, to lock them in a trunk or in a container that is not left in plain sight.

The law was a response to incidents in which firearms stolen from officers’ vehicles were used in killings, including the deaths of Kathryn Steinle, who was shot in 2015 on San Francisco’s Pier 14, and Oakland muralist Antonio Ramos.