Pittsburgh police investigating vehicle break-ins in Regent Square
It's an ongoing problem across Pittsburgh, as criminals find ways to break into cars and steal items. In Regent Square, behind a home on East End Avenue, an attempt at doing so quickly escalated, leaving a family shaken up.
Surveillance cameras captured a man breaking into a car around 2:15 a.m. Monday. In the background, another man is seen trying to get into another vehicle, as a third man keeps a lookout in the middle of Pansy Way by Guthrie Street. Seconds later, you hear the sound of gunshots, and the men run away.
Jeff Sarabok and his wife woke to their security camera alarm and saw three men outside in the alley behind their home. He called 911 and yelled at the criminals.
"I opened my window and just yelled because I thought, well, maybe I'll scare them off, you know, it might just be kids or whatever," Sarabok said.
Little did he realize, within moments the man in his car would step out, crouch down, and fire two shots.
"That was pretty, pretty brazen," Sarabok said. "The police were here within less than two minutes."
He said the suspects didn't get away with anything this time, or back in October when someone broke the window of one of their cars. That made them put cameras outside their home, but Sarabok said that didn't keep the criminals away.
"Just to be so nonchalant about the whole thing is pretty shocking," Sarabok said.
His cars were locked. They open with a key fob, and even without it, the criminals find ways to get inside.
"They have a scanning device that they use to electronically open the car," Sarabok said.
Hours after the incident, Sarabok bought a Faraday box to keep their keys in and block any electronic signals coming from them. He urges others to do the same and hopes police will do more to curb the problem.
"It's not just, you know, kids breaking into cars. Now, it's organized groups of people with firearms shooting at people. It's pretty alarming," Sarabok said.
If you have any information about this incident or suspect suspicious activity, you're asked to call Pittsburgh police at 412-323-7800.
