Dozens of cars were broken into and robbed in Roxborough and Andorra over the weekend.
Residents in the area went outside to find windows smashed in, shattered glass on the street and items missing from some of their cars in multiple areas.
One of the areas that was targeted, Port Royal Avenue, is where tenants at the Summit Park Apartments park their cars. It’s a dark street with limited lighting and security which tenants say creates an easy opportunity for thieves.
The residents believe it was a group that went through and broke into nearly 30 cars.
“At nighttime, all the spots are filled so you’ve got to park on the outside and that’s where most of the stuff happened yesterday,” Brian Copes, a Summit Park resident, said. “I’m hoping this is just a random act. Nobody wants to deal with that.”
The leasing office at the apartment building emailed tenants Monday morning notifying them that cars were vandalized. The email listed Philadelphia police’s 5th district phone number for residents to report the crime and reminders to keep doors locked and valuable items out of sight.
Multiple cars were also targeted around the corner on Summit Avenue.
“Some people feel like that it’s quiet that they’re more comfortable doing things like that,” Gina Felder, a resident in the neighborhood, said.
Another area that was hit was the 500 block of Monastery Avenue in Roxborough.
Home security video recorded a car break-in happening.
“We don’t know what they stole or what they were looking for,” John Wiggins, a resident, said.
Wiggins said his family came home from the shore when his son noticed that his car windows were bashed in.
“Give us more patrol. All hours. We need it,” he said.
He isn’t the only one asking for more police in the Roxborough section.
“Make sure your windows are rolled up. Your doors are locked and anything—like I’ve seen people with tablets in their front seats, cameras…I’ve seen like a lot of different things, valuables in people’s front seats,” Felder said. “They just don’t put them away and they really should.”
