Burglars Target Vehicles Parked at Daycares, Fitness Centers

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL - Area police are investigating several reports of vehicle burglaries happening at daycare facilities and fitness centers in recent weeks.

In Arlington Heights, police said six vehicles were broken into on Dec. 4 and Dec. 9 at the following locations: Kindercare, 110 W. Beager Drive and XSport Fitness, 320 E. Golf Road. The Kindercare burglaries occurred between 5:30 and 7:38 p.m. and the XSport Fitness burglary happened between 7:40 and 8:05 a.m.

In all of the incidents, the buglar or burglars shattered the passenger side window, and removed either a personal storage bag or a woman’s purse, according to Arlington Heights police. Similar burglaries have been reported in Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Buffalo Grove, Mount Prospect, Northbrook and Wheeling.

The offenders are believed to surveil the fitness club and daycare parking lots by parking to watch the behavior of customer traffic. The offending vehicles appear to be newer-model vehicles with dark-tinted windows and no front license plate.

Anyone with information regarding these crimes can text an anonymous tip by texting the keyword 847AHPD and your message to 847411 or by calling the Arlington Heights Crime Stoppers at 847-590-STOP. Callers may qualify for a cash reward of up to $1,000.