BLUE ASH, Ohio — There have been 84 car break-ins in Blue Ash in the last 30 days, the Blue Ash Chief of Police Scott Noel said.
"There's multiple agencies dealing with the same thing," Noel said. "We are not the worst."
Out of those thefts, five guns were stolen.
Noel said there have been hundreds of recent similar break-ins across the Tri-State and at least 25 to 30 guns have been stolen.
"There's no doubt that these guns are going to be involved in crimes going forward," he said.
More than 20 cars were targeted in the most recent string of break-ins in Blue Ash and Reading over the weekend.
Noel said some of the break-ins in the area were caught on surveillance cameras. He said police believe four to five men are showing up in two vehicles.
"One car is sitting down at the end of the street actually blocking the street," he said.
Noel urged residents not to confront suspects during break-ins.
"The people that are breaking into cars already have weapons on them from the previous break-ins," he said. "Now, if a homeowner or the police show up, we've got an armed confrontation and something bad's going to happen."
A student at the University of Cincinnati was shot and killed last month after approaching suspects breaking into his car.
Several of the break-ins this weekend took place at Deercross Apartments and Fox Run Apartments.
“It took a couple of hours to get it cleaned,” said Kyle Dy, a resident at Deercross Apartments.
Residents told us the break-ins took place early Sunday morning.
“We were about to leave to go somewhere to eat lunch, but never happened,” Dy said.
Dy said he wants to install a security camera after the incident.
Multiple residents told us the suspects didn’t take anything from their vehicles, but had rummaged through their cars.
“I mean, they're looking for something,” Dy said. “I’m not sure for sure. I don't know what.”
More cars were targeted in a nearby Reading neighborhood. Neighbors there said they believed suspects hit seven or eight.
Similar incidents have plagued various pockets of the Tri-State over the past year.
Last fall, a Cincinnati Police official warned Cincinnati City Council about the rising threat of gun thefts from cars. The official said thefts from vehicles where a gun was stolen were up 30% over the prior year.
Noel said people should not leave guns in their cars.
