KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knoxville Police Department said 11 cars were broken into in the Fourth & Gill neighborhood or the immediate surrounding area this weekend.
KPD said it received 10 reports on Sunday, and it appears they all occurred overnight between Saturday and Sunday.
A total of 11 cars were broken into, and the suspect or suspects forced entry into the vehicles by breaking a window, KPD said.
Officials said the break-ins were reported on Anderson Avenue, Haynes Place, Fourth Avenue, Oklahoma Avenue, Folsom Avenue, and Eleanor Street. Anderson Avenue had three reports, and Haynes Place and Fourth Avenue each had two reports.
This has made 59 vehicle break-ins in this area since the beginning of July. KPD believes the crimes are connected to the same suspects: a small group of unidentified people.
Patrol officers have been conducting walking and saturation patrols throughout the area to develop leads and identify possible suspects, and a possible person of interest has been identified, KPD said. However, at this point, no one has been arrested or charged for the break-ins.
"We are doing additional walking patrols in those neighborhoods. We are saturating those areas with police officers and cars," Chief Paul Noel said.
He said at least one gun was reported stolen.
"What we know from talking to the perpetrators that we arrest is that they are specifically looking to get guns and they are using those guns to commit other crimes in our community. Please do not leave those weapons in your vehicles," Noel said. "Very little evidence is left on the scene that's why it is so important for people if they see something, please call us and let us know."
"Some of those cases we're still waiting to get the inventories of those vehicles. I'm only aware of one weapon right now but a lot of the time we do know there's going to be more," Noel said.
Investigators said they need anybody with surveillance camera footage from that area that captures a possible suspect to provide that video. That video footage can be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers or by calling Teleserve at 865-215-7268.
According to a release, car break-ins have been up slightly this year compared to last year. It's not uncommon for these numbers to go up a little bit in the warmer summer months. KPD said the man in this video is who they have identified as a person of interest.