Thieves Target Cars In Tulsa During Summer, Police Say

On average, 16 cars per day are broken into during the Tulsa summer. It happens in every part of town and every time of day, but rarely is the thief caught on tape.

Except this time.

The broken glass is still in the parking lot from where the thief smashed Naomi's window. She says what was stolen from her is far more valuable than anything she had in her purse.

No matter how many times Naomi watches the video, it still gives her a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

While she was inside her office working at 73rd and South Yale Tuesday evening, she had no idea a man was outside walking around her car, looking in her windows and getting ready to make his move.

"All of a sudden, my safety is completely shot,” she said. “The feeling of being safe is completely gone."

The man made three passes in the parking lot before parking next to her and walking to her passenger window. He barely made a ripple as he broke her window and reached in to grab her purse. She hadn't carried it inside at lunch because her hands were full. She meant to go back out but got busy and distracted with work.

"People don't value other people's property, other people's lives, other people's feeling of safety,” she said. “That is a very scary place to be."

He drove off with her driver's license, nurse's license, social security card, debit and credit cards, and even though she stopped them fast, she's now worried what he's going to do with all her personal information, plus she's out $500 to fix her broken window.

She just hopes someone recognizes the man so he can be stopped.

"I don't want this to happen to anybody else,” she said. “That's really my main thing. I want him caught so he's taken off the street or turns his life around. Maybe this will be his wake-up call to say it's wrong to do this to people."

Cars are broken into around 500 times a month during the summer in the City of Tulsa, records show. It's an important reminder not to leave anything of value inside your car because if a criminal sees it, they are going to take it.