ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Police said car burglars use many tools including bats, rocks, crowbars - to smash a windows but the most popular is a tool called a punch.
Many auto parts stores sell punch-type tools. One is called an "emergency hammer" a device that contains a seat belt cutter and a metal-tipped triangle to smash the window and escape from your vehicle if you become trapped.
But police said burglars have perfected an illegal use of the punch, which is helping them to quickly and quietly shatter car windows and steal belongings all across Central Florida.
Monday night, at least 25 cars were burglarized in an Altamonte Springs parking lot.
Keith Venn's SUV was one of the cars that the burglars tried to break into overnight. Venn said he first noticed something wasn’t right when he realized his windows were cracked. Then he figured out he wasn’t alone.
"I looked around the parking lot,” Venn said. “And there were other people standing around and someone asked me, ‘Did they hit your car too?'"
Over the weekend, burglars broke into more than 50 cars that were parked in Florida Hospital Orlando parking garages.
"Now I'm out money and time," Venn said. "(I’m) supposed to be at work today. Now (I'm) dealing with trying to fix this. Then I gotta pay for it. Insurance says at least $400."
Chris Sauls, operations manager at Greenstar Auto Recyclers off N. Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, said more cars have been showing up at his facility with broken windows.
"When glass breaks, it's not like you see in the movies where it just shatters and blows out," Sauls said.
News 6 anchor Erik von Ancken discovered how easy and quiet it is.
Using the "emergency hammer" punch tool he'd purchased at a nearby auto store, he hit a side window and the glass fell instantly. There was no loud high-pitched glass-breaking sound, just a dull, dropping or dripping sound of small chunks of tempered glass falling.
"I would venture to say the people trying to break into these cars know exactly what they're looking for," Sauls said. "They know which cars are going to break easily because they've been doing it all night."
Sauls said some types of glass break more easier than others, but ultimately all types will break.
“They probably know which ones to go after, which type of car, which cars are going to break and exactly where to hit it," he said.
Central Florida police said that the best way to protect your car and your property is to lock your doors all the time and to take all of your valuables out of your car, especially the ones in plain view.