INDIANAPOLIS — Residents in Indianapolis' Holy Cross neighborhood are on edge following a recent string of car break-ins.
“I came out and found my window busted out,” said Chris McFadden, who had items stolen from his car while staying at his girlfriend’s home.
The window was pulled out of the driver’s side and items had been taken out of McFadden’s vehicle.
McFadden said he usually parks in the garage, especially since a streetlight has been out on their block, but there was no room for his vehicle the night of the break-in. He felt completely safe to park the SUV on the street.
"I haven't had an issue in the last year that we've been here,” McFadden said.
A neighbor's security camera shows man broke into McFadden’s driver’s side window around 1 a.m.
"My vehicle was locked with the alarm on when he broke into it. He was pretty sneaky about getting into my vehicle and taking my things,” McFadden said.
And McFadden was not the only victim.
“As I kind of picked up my belongings and headed down the street someone else had their vehicle broken into. So I put that out on the Nextdoor app and some other neighbors chimed in and said, ‘our vehicle was broken into, my husband's vehicle was broken into, I saw this individual,’” said McFadden.
So far, six of his neighbors have reached out saying they were also the victims of car break-ins.
McFadden filed a police report and several neighbors shared their security footage.
IMPD says there has only been a 1.67% increase in vehicle break-ins this year from Jan. 1-Nov. 13 compared to the same time frame in 2020.
Police say it’s best not to leave any valuables inside your vehicle. It's advice McFadden is now heeding himself. Around $2,300 in his belongings were stolen.
"He took two custom knives, my go bag which is for emergencies, my backpack, all those belongings that were in there, my Samsung watch, my girlfriend's Bose headphones, my headphones, my gym stuff,” McFadden said.
He plans to park in the garage from now on and wants to make sure others who live in the area are on high alert.
"Because if someone wants in your vehicle, they want to take your things they are going to do it regardless of if its locked, whether it has an alarm on it, they are going to,” McFadden said.
