Spartanburg County, South Carolina Dozens of cars were broken into in Spartanburg County early Tuesday morning, with the sheriff’s office receiving approximately 50 reports.
The break-ins took place near clusters of hotels, including as Westgate Mall in Spartanburg and a QT gas station in Duncan, where broken glass was discovered littering the parking lots. Deputies stated that the occurrences were uncommon because of the quantity of damaged windows, as break-ins normally involve unlocked vehicles.
“There were a lot of smashed windows, which isn’t typical,” said Graham McLellan, Public Information Officer for the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.
To avoid future incidents, the sheriff’s office has enhanced patrols in the impacted regions. “Once I become aware of situations like this, we do increase patrols around those areas,” McLellan told me.
Pickup trucks were notably targeted during the break-ins, presumably due to the belief that they contained firearms. “It appears that they were targeting pickup trucks, likely because, being in the South, if you see a pickup truck, you assume maybe there’s a gun in that pickup truck,” according to McLellan.
The theft of weapons is a serious worry for law enforcement since stolen firearms might end up in the wrong hands, notably those of youngsters.
“If there are different weapons out there, they are unfortunately something that we see teenagers get ahold of because they can’t go buy a gun,” claimed McLellan.
The sheriff’s office recommends citizens to remove all valuables from their vehicles, even if they are locked, to avoid theft and other issues. “Having your car broken into is an invasion of your privacy, but it becomes a little less of a problem if you didn’t have a laptop, a gun, your purse, or something in the car,” McLellan told me.
The sheriff’s office shared the following photo with 7NEWS, claiming the detained vehicle was involved in the numerous break-ins reported Tuesday morning.
Residents are advised to report any suspicious behavior or if they suspect their car has been searched, since this may provide evidence to help solve the break-ins.
