Ashland Police look for three people after a car burglary surge Thursday morning

ASHLAND, Mo. (KMIZ)

Three people burglarized 18 cars in the Eagle Lakes, Southwinds, Bluegrass South and Liberty Landing subdivision areas of Ashland.

"Last night was a little bit different. We did have a couple of broken windows. That's not as common for us, but we think that they were targeting specific items that were in those cars," Ashland Police Department Sgt. Andrew Worrall said.

The APD believes the suspect was looking for firearms, as they stole four guns during the robbery sweep.

The police department has been short-staffed for several weeks and has been actively recruiting to fill in the gaps to provide more coverage around the town.

"We're very short-staffed," Worrall said. "We're trying the best we can to cover as much time as we can. And I do want to note that there was actually a firearm stolen from a neighborhood while there were at least four deputies down there."

A Jefferson City Police Department spokesman told ABC 17 News in an email that one of its vehicles was also damaged and equipment was stolen.

"Yes, a Jefferson City police vehicle was damaged during a theft in Ashland. Equipment was stolen from the vehicle, the value has not been tabulated at this time," Lt. David Williams said in an email.

The case is still under investigation as officers are going through camera footage. They have a vehicle description of the suspect's car that APD received from the victims.

Officers advise people to lock their car doors and not to leave anything valuable in their vehicles.

The Ashland Police Department has posted a form to its website to report such crimes.