WAUWATOSA, Wis. — In just 36 hours, Wauwatosa Police were involved in five different police pursuits. In two of the cases, the car was stolen.
10 people were arrested after those five chases. A majority of those arrested, WPD said, were armed teens from Milwaukee.
"I went to go to work and went out to my parking lot, and there was glass all over the ground, and I knew right away that somebody stole my vehicle," Justin Carter said.
Carter just moved to Wauwatosa. Two weeks ago, his car was stolen out of his apartment parking lot.
Surveillance video from the apartment shows two masked men scoping out the parking lot minutes before they stole Carter's Hyundai.
"Two days went by and the police found it. It was used in a high-speed chase in Wauwatosa. It was totaled, they side-swiped some stuff, the front bumper was smashed in, and they blew the transmission on it," Carter explained.
Watch: 'Stay vigilant' police warning following rise in stolen cars and police chases
We found Carter after he commented on a WPD Facebook post. It was a post about pursuits involving stolen cars.
"It's facts. I mean, it's happening all over. It's happening in Wauwatosa," Carter said.
He's right.
"Is this normal now," Reporter Jenna Rae asked.
"It's something I truly worry about every shift for our cops that go out. Kids with stolen cars, and then add a gun into it, it's a terrible combination," WPD Captain, Luke Vetter, said.
Vetter said those kids aren't just stealing parked cars anymore.
"It's shifted a little bit and become the strong arm with the car jacking situation, and this is across the county, not specifically Wauwatosa," Vetter explained.
A crime trend that's on the rise, that police said doesn't seem to be slowing down.
"Citizens need to be vigilant. They gotta keep their head on a swivel and be aware of their surroundings. Secondly, they gotta go with their instincts. If they don't feel well about the situation, they need to go the other way, get out of there," Vetter advised.
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