Over the Summer, Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside went out and purchased a $50,000 Colt M16 assault rifle equipped with a silencer, some ammunition and a rifle bag, according to a report by Andy Slater. Shortly thereafter, Whiteside's new toy was stolen out of his unlocked Rolls-Royce.
After leaving Johnson’s Firearms in Miami on that July day, Whiteside reportedly headed to the University of Miami for workout before returning home. It wasn't until the next day that he realized his newly purchased rifle had gone missing. The 29-year old center believed that the M16 was stolen while he was at The U, but a police investigation proved otherwise.
According to the report:
"After reviewing surveillance video, Coral Gables police determined that the gun was not stolen on campus, as he believed. Whiteside was the only person seen to go in and out of his unlocked $400,000 car."
"About two weeks later, Whiteside and his attorneys spoke with detectives. During that conversation, Whiteside remembered that he had left the just-purchased rifle unattended in his unlocked car when he went back inside the gun store."
"It was determined that the gun was stolen at that time, and not on UM’s campus."
The rifle was reportedly discovered weeks later in a stolen car in North Miami.
Although the incident occurred in early July, news of the theft has only just surfaced. According to the Miami Herald, Whiteside released the following statement through the team.
“I have a license for the gun that was stolen from me over the summer,” Whiteside said in a statement. “I should have secured it better and I’m glad it was recovered. It won’t happen again. It is now locked in a safe and I only use it at the gun range.”