Mass vehicle break-ins creating worry in St. Louis area

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Police throughout the St. Louis area are reporting a new trend in vehicle break-ins — groups of thieves hitting multiple cars in a matter of minutes. KTVI-TV reports that a UPS facility in the Maryland Heights area is among the parking areas victimized recently. A shipping company lot in St. Louis was targeted Friday. Similar mass break-ins have been reported in at least four other St. Louis-area communities. St. Louis County police say four or five people in a single vehicle go onto a parking lot at night, hit up to 50 cars over the course of a few minutes, and take off. Thieves have gotten away with firearms, cash, credit cards and jewelry.