ST. LOUIS – Multiple cars were found damaged or broken into after a recent blues home game.
The Blues take on the Nashville Predators at home Thursday night. The break-ins nearby could certainly raise concerns for Blues fans going to the game.
The incident near the Enterprise Center took place on October 28. We talked to one Blues fan who came back to his car after the game to find it damaged. He parked in a lot between 16th and 18th Streets owned by St. Louis Parking. The fan, who did not want to be named, said the driver’s side windows of his car were chipped where it appeared someone had tried to break in. The man also said he noticed about ten cars either damaged or broken into in the same area.
“It’s going to take a little bit of time to build up the want and need to go back to a Blues game or a Cardinals game or downtown in general,” the man said.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police confirmed they have taken five reports from people who say they parked in that same lot, a nearby lot, or on the street to attend a Blues game, and when they came back, they found their windows were damaged and/or items were stolen.
This week FOX 2 has been reporting on a staggering number of cars being broken into recently in large parking lots where there are many overnight workers. Police have reported 164 break-ins recently in the Earth City area, more than 30 in St. Peters plus more than a dozen each in Fenton, St. Louis City, Sauget, and Pontoon Beach.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said a regional approach needs to be taken to combat the car break-in trend.
“The people that are committing these types of crimes are not adhering to borders and jurisdictions,” Bell said. “Keep in mind, what is happening in Town and Country, they’re not going to be privy to what’s happening in Florissant for example. This way we can start streamlining that information, sharing that information and that just helps us be more deliberate and make a bigger impact.”
Bell said the auto theft task force in St. Louis County can start to shift its focus to the mass break-ins. FOX 2 reached out to both St. Louis Parking and the Blues about the October 28 incident but did not hear back.
