COLUMBUS, Ohio — Many residents at the Grant Park apartments in Italian Village woke up on Thursday to find their car windows had been smashed.
Columbus police reported eight cars were broken into overnight in the 1300 block of North Grant Avenue. No suspects are in custody and an investigation is underway.
Madi Furr was on her way to class when she noticed her car had been hit.
“It was heartbreaking, devastating. It puts a pit in your stomach. Ruins your day, I got really mad,” Furr said.
She has lived at the complex for about two years and has been hit once before.
“I think that is why it is so upsetting honestly because you just kind of feel helpless like there is nothing you can do to stop it. It is after the fact. There is no one held accountable, it just keeps happening,” Furr said.
Devon Stith, who also lives at the complex was on his way to work when he noticed the shattered window of his brand new car.
“Definitely with how much of an issue it is all over the city, I feel like more could be done to just be more aware of the issue and I would at least like to see more from my apartment complex to address it if that is an increase in security or something like that,” Stith said.
As break-ins in the area become more frequent, the complex is looking for help from the city.
“We are making sure we are reaching out to our residents and let them know we have done everything we can to reach out to city council, reach out to police and we will continue to do so until we have answers,” said K. Benji Jackson, district manager of Grant Park.
Jackson said he would like to see the city address the financial impact of the break-ins and increase police patrols in areas that are frequently targeted.
“We are being as proactive as possible to ensure the safety of our residents. We have security, we have cameras but the biggest thing is we need to work with the city council, the police department to make sure they are being proactive in stopping this,” he said.
City council leaders were not available to comment for this story but said they are looking at solutions to break-ins across the city.