ST. LOUIS COUNTY (KMOX) - Police say 164 cars have been broken into in a matter of days as part of what appears to be a mass smash-and-grab trend in St. Louis County.
Police say most of the the nearly 200 recent break-ins have taken place in the parking lots of large, 24-hour facilities like Amazon, FedEx and UPS.
St. Louis County Officer Adrian Washington says the thieves are making off with guns from some of the vehicles.
"While you may feel that you can securely stow my firearm in my car and it's not visible, we want to encourage you to leave that firearm at home," Washington says. "Because in the wrong hands, we know the result is never good."
St. Louis County police said the recent crime trend involves a handful of thieves pulling into a parking lot inside a single car overnight. They are able to break into up to 50 cars in a matter of minutes and drive off with whatever they're able to pull out.
Similar mass break-ins have also been reported around the greater St. Louis area, in places like St. Peters, Fenton, Pontoon Beach and Sauget. Investigators aren't sure if the break-ins are related.
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