‘It’s scary’: Criminals use vehicles to smash into Seattle garages to steal valuables, neighbors say

SEATTLE — Western Washington has seen a plague of crimes where criminal use stolen vehicles to smash into business and steal valuable items. Well now families are seeing a new twist in the smash-and-grab epidemic, where criminals ram their vehicles into garages in Seattle in order to get inside, neighbors told KIRO 7 News.

MONTLAKE:

One attempted break-in happened at a home in Montlake last Wednesday at about 10 a.m., the homeowner told KIRO 7 News.

The homeowner shared on social media that someone rammed a vehicle into their garage and tried to get inside, but failed since the homeowner’s vehicle was parked in the garage.

But that didn’t stop the suspect.

The post stated the suspect hopped over their seven-foot fence but was later scared off by their two large dogs barking.

The husband was home but did not see anyone since he was working downstairs.

The total cost to repair the garage is around $5,000, the husband told KIRO 7 News.

“Be on alert. Keep an eye out for your neighbors,” the post said.

KIRO 7 News spoke with Barbara Klube, who lives near where the attempted break-in happened.

She’s lived in the neighborhood since 1991.

“It is concerning,” she shared. “This street is very busy now, and for somebody to break and drive into a garage, I mean, oh my God. I can’t imagine having your house broken into. Although this house been broken into two years ago, I do recall that.”

What makes this incident so concerning to Klube is that it happened near a busy road in broad daylight, she said.

“People can see them. If a car is running off the road and into the garage, people would have noticed that and heard it,” Klube said. “You expect something like that to happen in three in the morning maybe two in the morning. Not in broad daylight.”

Ashley Hanson, a neighbor, said she was shocked when she learned about her neighbor’s situation.

“Our garage is on that same busy road,” she said. “I felt shocked. This is a safe neighborhood. Usually that stuff doesn’t happen. Especially the time of day at 10 a.m.”

“Many people go down that road and for that just to happen and no one to witness it or to come forward and say, ‘I saw some sketchy activity,’ that’s kind of scary,” she added.

Hanson said she is not too concerned about her children walking down the street by themselves in broad daylight following the attempted break-in, but she believes more parents should talk with their children about being more aware of their surroundings, how to navigate uncomfortable situations with strangers, etc.

She said there are a number of families with children in the neighborhood.

“I think it increases the need for parents to have these kinds of difficult conversations with their children,” she said, while adding that she believes the issue impacts everyone in the community.

“It’s not just small businesses that need to ban together, it’s literally a community problem. Community everybody, who lives here, needs to ban together and come up with something,” she added.

KIRO 7 News reached out to the Seattle Police Department to get more details about this incident, including the possible suspect. We’re still waiting for information.

SEATTLE:

And another Seattle neighborhood saw a similar situation, just several days prior.

A man, who did not want us to identify him, shared a photo that captured a truck inside his condo’s garage Sunday overnight.

He said the vehicle smashed the garage gate, which left the condo’s garage gateless, leaving many families and their vehicles vulnerable.

KIRO 7 News saw the gateless garage Monday but will not disclose the location due to safety concerns.

Neighbors nearby said the incident is part of a bigger problem in the area.

“I got my two cars stolen, just nearby, just across the street here. It happens almost every day. It’s concerning to me.,” said Habib Qazi, who lives near the complex.

Qazi said the incident, involving the gateless garage, is scary because it takes away a sense of security for many people who live in the complex, but also for people who live or work nearby.

“Somebody can just go in the garage, even if I’m home, they can just come in. It doesn’t make sense. I can’t call it my home,” he said.

While the incident has left many people concerned about their home, a place they consider their sanctuary, Qazi said he is encouraging people to speak up if they see something to protect the entire community.

“If everybody is quiet, nobody talks about it, it’s going to keep happening. Somebody has to speak up,” he said.

Hani Farrah, who also lives near the complex, said she’s concerned for people living inside the complex, who are at-risk or vulnerable, including children.

“People could be inside. There might be dogs inside. There might be children. There’s a lot of concerns there. It’s pretty messed up. I hope people in Seattle get their mental health, that’s a very big priority in Seattle, and if these people are doing these things, they have some mental health issues. They’re not concerned about their own safety and other’s safety.”

KIRO 7 News reached out to the Seattle Police Department to get more details about the incident, including a possible suspect. We’re still waiting for information.

A man, who lives inside the complex, told KIRO 7 the homeowners make up the condo’s board, and it plans to fix the garage, but details around the timing were not shared.

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