Over 60 cars broken into overnight in Northwest DC in less than 72 hours: police

WASHINGTON - More than 60 cars were broken into in a 72-hour period in Northwest D.C., according to police. 

On Friday, at least 51 cars in the Woodley Park area had their windows smashed overnight, according to D.C. police. Then, Friday night into Saturday, at least 11 more were hit in the District’s Petworth neighborhood.

Shards of broken glass could still be seen on 8th Street, 9th Street and Buchannan Street in Petworth Saturday night. An eyewitness who was woken up by the noise told FOX 5 she saw two men with ski masks breaking windows around 4:45 a.m. 

Neighbors told FOX 5 that it’s been a frustrating experience, especially because they feel like they’re doing the right thing.

"I didn’t have anything of value. I had nothing in plain view," neighbor Christopher Carter said.                        

Carter works close to the site where the dozens of break-ins happened in Woodley Park overnight Thursday. Then, overnight Friday, it happened to him in front of his home. He got the window taken care of Saturday afternoon.

"It turned out to be just a waste of time because they broke my window and it cost me money," he said. 

FOX 5 obtained a small snippet of video from a neighbor capturing the men who she says were wearing ski masks, breaking windows seemingly indiscriminately and with ease.

Berin Linfors’ car was also hit, and he also didn’t have anything of value inside.

"Annoying. Your initial thought is, ‘Yeah, this sucks.’ But actually, luckily we got it fixed pretty quickly and it wasn’t physical violence, so that’s good," Linfors said. "The guy who came out and repaired the window said he’s had a pretty big uptick in repairs." 

Adding to the frustration for neighbors was the weekend rain, so if they hadn’t gotten their windows fixed, they had to make other arrangements to keep their cars dry.

According to D.C. police data, the number of thefts from vehicles in 2023 amounted to an average of 21 cars per day with items stolen from inside.

The numbers are down thus far this year, but still, it’s an average of 16 per day. 

D.C. police are investigating this incident and the Woodley Park break-ins; reminding people to not leave any valuable items in plain view, and if you have a trunk with a lock — use it.