Police are investigating a rash of car break-ins at a popular shopping center near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, days after thieves shattered car windows and stole a woman’s gun in the same area, Channel 2 Action News reported.
A number of vehicles were vandalized early Thursday at a TGI Fridays in Camp Creek Marketplace, Atlanta police told the news station. Thieves reportedly smashed the windows of at least three cars and made off with diners’ personal belongings.
Murium Finney, one of the victims, told Channel 2 it was not the first time her car has been a target while parked there.
“This is the second, third time it’s happened,” Finney said. “The police are here, they are sitting right here in front, and I’m parked under a well-lit area, but it happened.”
Camp Creek Marketplace is located off I-285 in the area of Camp Creek Parkway, which is one of the main thoroughfares into the airport.
Last week, a woman told Channel 2 her door was popped open and her gun was stolen from a center console while she had dinner at a Camp Creek Parkway LongHorn Steakhouse.
The restaurant employs a private security guard for its parking lot, but the news station reported that didn’t stop thieves from breaking into three vehicles.
MORE: Woman says handgun stolen after thieves break into car while she was eating dinner
Camp Creek Marketplace has seen its share of violent crimes.
Earlier this year, two women were carjacked on two different occasions at the shopping plaza, according to Channel 2.
A 41-year-old woman, who asked not to be identified, ended up with a traumatic brain injury after she told police she was pistol-whipped by a gun-toting high school student in January. Then, in April, another woman’s 2013 Lexus ES 350 was stolen as she was at the pump at the BJ’s Wholesale Club gas station, according to East Point police.
RELATED: Shoppers want change after 2 recent attacks at Camp Creek Marketplace
Shoppers told Channel 2 at the time of the April carjacking that crime is spiraling out of control in the area, and no one is doing anything about it.
According to Channel 2, crimes near the shopping plaza in 2017 were 10 times higher than the national average for similar locations.
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