SPRING HILL, Tenn. -
Residents in two Spring Hill neighborhoods remain on edge after more than a dozen car burglaries in the last week.
According to detectives, the nearly 20 incidents occurred on two separate nights.
Authorities reported to Nashville's News 2 Investigates the thieves smashed and grabbed various items including electronics, credit cards, money and a .45 caliber gun.
In several of the incidents, the thieves gained entry by breaking the vehicles' windows.
Nineteen-year-old Victoria O'Connor is among the victims.
She told Nashville's News 2 her Volkswagen Beetle had its passenger side window smashed out.
O'Connor said the thief fled with $85 and her purse. The rest of her belongings were found nearby, thrown behind a fence.
"It makes you feel scared," she said. "I hope karma comes back to these people who did this."
Nearby neighbor Melissa Honeycutt reported that the thieves smashed out her husband's car window and stole two laptops and an iPod.
Honeycutt told Nashville's News 2 Investigates the incident has frightened her 10-year-old daughter.
"I was putting her to bed and she was saying, 'Mommy, will we get robbed again? Will we get robbed again?'"
Detective Mike Foster said it is unusual for a car thief to break out the windows of a vehicle on multiple occasions.
"I think they saw something in the car they really wanted," he said.
In one instance, Foster reported a victim's credit car was used at a Mapco station in Nashville.
Police remind residents to always lock their vehicles and to keep all valuables out of sight.
Anyone with information on the recent crimes is urged to contact Spring Hill police at 931-486-3270 or Crime Stoppers at 877-840-0333.
