ST. LOUIS – It’s a crime that’s almost too brazen to believe.
Residents in the Shaw neighborhood of St. Louis posted pictures to social media showing several cars missing their wheels and tires after being stolen. It was reported to have happened overnight Tuesday.
Long-time resident Mark Bialczak described it as “low.”
“It’s really crazy that they would go to the extreme of taking tires and wheels off people’s cars, that’s pretty bad,” Bialczak said.
Bialczak has lived in the neighborhood since the early 1980s, saying he’s had his car broken into several times. He has resorted to taking out all valuables and leaving his car unlocked in an effort to limit damage.
He and other neighbors described these crimes as both annoying and unnecessary.
“I think if these people put enough effort into doing something legal and quit disrupting people’s lives, things would be a lot better for all of us,” he said.
Michael Krupp, another long-term resident of Shaw, said these incidents are a daily frustration for him.
“My thing is, why don’t people go out and work?” Krupp said. “I don’t get it. There’s so much money to be made out here, but you see the people standing on the street corners, begging for money.”
While car break-ins and wheel theft can be major inconveniences, some neighbors say it just comes with living in St. Louis.
“You know, I’m living in the city,” Bialczak said. “What are you going to do?”
St. Louis Metropolitan Police encourage people to use locking lug nuts and anti-theft devices for their wheels. Anyone with information about these crimes should call police right away.
