19 vehicles broken into inside Arlington parking garage: police

Police say 19 cars broken into inside Arlington parking garage

Police say at least 19 vehicles were broken into inside an Arlington parking garage Wednesday night. Investigators are now searching for the suspects and turning to the community for help.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Police say at least 19 vehicles were broken into inside an Arlington parking garage Wednesday night. 

Investigators are now searching for the suspects and turning to the community for help.

What we know:

According to Arlington County police, officers were called to 2500 block of 9th Road S. around 7:30 a.m. on July 17. Police were called for a late report of destruction of property. 

Upon arrival, it was determined that during the overnight hours, approximately 19 vehicles inside a parking garage were broken into, including some by force.

According to police, some of the vehicles were rummaged through and personal property—including credit cards and electronics—were stolen from some of the vehicles. The victim's vehicles vary in make and model. There is no suspect description at this time. 

This remains an ongoing investigation. Anyone with any information on this incident is asked to contact police. 

What they're saying:

Arlington police describe this as a crime of opportunity, saying that some of the cars targeted were unlocked or had valuables in plain site.

FOX 5 spoke with a resident who lives in the apartment building attached to the parking garage.

"Hopefully it won’t happen again anytime soon, but I haven’t experienced a problem. I’ve been parking there for years," Arlington resident Ken Brotherton said.

I don’t keep anything very expensive in my car because I’ve gotten broken into before so I know better," another resident, Kels, told FOX 5.

Full statement:

FOX 5 reached out to the garage management company, BM Smith. Here's what they said:

"We currently do not have a lot of information at this time. We were made aware of the attempts this morning, and have allocated staff time to reviewing any potential camera activity and meeting with any residents impacted. This is our top priority. We will be supplying any findings immediately to Arlington County Police Department, and will be identifying additional measures we can put in place to mitigate any further issues."