Three teenagers were arrested Tuesday following a string of early morning car break-ins involving more than 100 cars in Minneapolis and more than a dozen others in nearby cities.
In an update on Tuesday afternoon, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said more than 500 car break-ins had been reported to police since July.
"These crimes while quite often property damage have taken a very significant impact on our community," O'Hara said. "It's taken a toll on the victims, on the community, and the officers trying to manage at times dozens and dozens of reports as they come in. Stopping this problem has been one of our highest priorities."
Tuesday's arrest came after MPD initiated its Crime Pattern Response Protocol which is all-hands-on-deck approach that shuts down response to non-emergency calls and requests mutual aid from agencies like the Minnesota State Patrol and Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.
Around 9 a.m. a stolen white Kia Sorento was spotted in north Minneapolis, which was the same vehicle Brooklyn Park police had pursued hours earlier in-connection to other break-ins.
Suspects inside that vehicle were eventually arrested, while another stolen vehicle likely used in some of the break-ins was also recovered later on at a separate location.
"In order to have a case against someone just for one particular vehicle, we have to prove that one specific person damaged that specific vehicle," O'Hara added.
In response to Tuesday's break-ins, three dozen Minneapolis police officers were assigned to impacted neighborhoods where they spoke with residents and collected additional evidence.
