Blue Ash police chief alerts residents to ongoing vehicle break-ins

The Blue Ash police chief is alerting residents to a rise in vehicle break-ins.

Chief Scott Noel said during a press conference Monday that officers have responded to 84 break-ins in the past 30 days.

This past month, several Fox Run or Deercross Parkway apartment complex residents have woken up to shattered windows and missing items from their vehicles.

“First couple weeks, it was our hotels up north, like every hotel was getting hit,” Noel said. “Now, it’s apartment complexes.”

The chief said this past week alone, the department received almost a dozen more reported vehicle break-ins.

He says the thieves are smashing through windows and rummaging through all the cars, stealing whatever they can, including several weapons. The chief said 25 to 30 guns were missing in the thefts.

“Before, it used to be the old saying 'don’t leave anything in plain sight'. It doesn’t matter now," the chief said.

All of the vehicles broken into over the weekend were locked. The windows were punched out and then the thieves entered them. If there’s nothing of value, they move on.

The chief said the thieves were finding items hidden in the vehicles and he urged gun owners not to leave their firearms in their cars.

Noel said they have some surveillance video of one of the recent incidents. He said it appears to be a group of four or five men or teens working together in two vehicles.

The chief could not say if the group is responsible for all the break-ins. He said if you do encounter them, do not approach and call 911 as they are thought to be armed and dangerous.

Enquirer media partner Fox 19 provided this report.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: A rash of Blue Ash vehicle break-ins resulted in 25-30 gun thefts