Fairfax County thieves targeting Honda airbags

FAIRFAX, Va. - Thieves are targeting Hondas in Fairfax County as authorities investigate a rash of airbags thefts.

The parking garage of Camden Fairfax Corner apartment complex in Fair Oaks saw 10 Hondas have their airbags stolen sometime between 11 p.m. on Sept. 4 and 6 a.m. on Sept. 5, according to officials.

Investigators said the thieves were able to get past the fence and into the ground level of the parking garage where they smashed car windows and stole the airbags.

Second Lt. Jonathan Bryant with the Fairfax County Police Department said it's a trend that authorities have seen flare up in the county before and stated there is a rather large market for Honda airbags.
Bryant said the stolen airbags often end up in chop shops and can go for anywhere between $300 and $500 each.

He said the thieves at Camden Fairfax Corner knew exactly what they were doing.

"It's probably not their first time, especially with 10 vehicles and multiple airbags being stolen, you're going to have a crew of two, three, four, five people, you may even have a lookout," Bryant explained. "We hope that if the public sees suspicious people walking around at night in low-level lighting conditions and looking into cars, better safe than sorry, just give us a call and let us come out and we'll take a look into them and determine if it's appropriate to approach them and talk to them."

Authorities said the most important thing for victims of these types of crimes is to report it right away as it gives detectives a better chance of catching the thieves.

The police department said the theft at Camden Fairfax Corner remains under investigation.