CHARLOTTE -- Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are working to find the suspects who have broken into more than a dozen firefighters' cars this past week. The thieves have hit five different fire stations in Charlotte, striking when firefighters are out on calls.
"It's wrong, it needs to stop, and we're not going to stand for it," said Capt. Dennis Gist with the Charlotte Fire Department. "We want our firefighters to feel safe while they're here. They're out protecting and serving and we want them to be out there doing that and have that feeling of security when they return that things are as they left them."
Similar thefts happened last week at fire stations in Mooresville and Kannapolis. It's unclear if all the break-ins are connected, but the pattern is the same.
"It could be someone that's monitoring our radio traffic, because all of the incidents have occurred while these stations or firefighters were out on call or responding to calls," said Capt. Gist.
According to police reports, the suspects stole cash, iPods, and two guns from the firefighters' cars. In several cases, they smashed in the car windows, causing hundreds of dollars worth of damage.
"These firefighters are out trying to protect lives and property, and it's just wrong that this is what they're coming back to," Gist said.
The Charlotte Fire Department is putting additional security measures in place to prevent more car break-ins. If you have information about these cases, call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.