MOORESVILLE, Ind. — Indiana State Police, sheriff's deputies and city police officers are investigating a series of car break-ins in two different central Indiana counties. Their biggest concern and warning for neighbors? The bad guys are stealing guns out of people's vehicles.
Even though multiple suspects have been captured on camera, police haven't been able to catch the crooks.
Investigators said the thieves have been targeting vehicles for more than a month now, often hitting neighborhoods at night between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m.
Surveillance photos from a couple of the crimes show a guy in a hoodie, wearing black shoes and carrying a weapon.
Police say he's one of several suspects breaking into cars, getting valuables and stealing guns.
"One gentleman was just standing there holding a gun," Mooresville Police Sgt. Brock Chipman said. "He just stole it out of a vehicle, and then, he was walking to another house, and he was just holding it in his hand as he was walking by."
Since September, Chipman said crooks have targeted Mooresville, Camby and Indy's southwest side with 38 car break-ins in Mooresville alone.
Chipman said a half-dozen firearms have been stolen in Marion and Morgan counties.
"People are either leaving their guns in the glove box, or you can see them underneath the steering wheel," Chipman said. "Thieves are busting windows or sometimes just opening the door, grabbing the guns and taking off."
Hannah Payton, in Mooresville, caught a suspect on her Ring camera.
She hadn't locked her car doors that night, although the thief only got away with a bag of change.
"I shared my video with police. They weren't surprised, no. They said, 'We've been trying to catch this guy for weeks,'" Payton said. "I'm just glad that nobody was awake here to confront him because I don't know what he would have done."
The brazen thieves are even targeting cops, too.
Chipman said a state police trooper and multiple city officers had guns taken from their patrol cars.
"We had a Mooresville police car that was broken into. They looked in, saw there was a firearm underneath the steering wheel, they broke the glass, they got the firearm and they went on," Chipman said.
Since the thieves are armed, Chipman said this troubling trend has potentially dangerous consequences.
"If somebody in town was to see them and interact with them, you don't know, they could be armed from a gun they just stole. It just causes an unsafe environment honestly, and we've got to catch these people," Chipman said. "They're seeing those firearms, and I don't know what they're doing with them...and that's what scares me and keeps me up at night."
Investigators are warning neighbors to protect themselves by not becoming an easy target. Keep weapons in the house — not the car — and lock up their vehicles.
They also ask if anyone has information about the thieves or video of any break-ins, to call Mooresville police or Crime Stoppers at 317-262-8477 (TIPS).