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Heads up! Thieves targeting cars at local park while parents watch kids

FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. — Police are searching for the smash-and-grab thieves who targeted parents at Handley Park in Tyrone, Georgia, as they watched their children's baseball game.

The break-ins happened Saturday afternoon, and police told Channel 2 Action News the thief or thieves broke into four cars.

"That's awful. You can't even go to your kid's baseball game without worrying about your car being broken into," resident Anne Marie Gilbert said.

Purses were stolen from three of the vehicles, and a lot of damage was done, too.

"There was an eyewitness. He didn't see the break-in but saw someone suspicious," said Detective Andrea Johnson-McCoy, with the Tyrone Police Department.

Police said that, in the three theft cases, the victims left their purses in view.

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"Thankfully, one victim had her laptop and all of her personal items in a backpack with her," Johnson-McCoy said. "We have had other ones (thefts) at our local gymnasium complex as well."

Fortunately, in this case, thieves weren't able to ring up charges on stolen credit cards.

"All of the victims were able to call their banks and creditors on the scene before transactions were made," Johnson-McCoy said.

Police are looking for the thieves who cast a dark shadow over a fun, family-oriented afternoon.

“Especially during a baseball game, where the kids are involved, they come back to their cars in situations like that. It's unfortunate,” resident Dale Gilbert said.

Police said they will have extra patrols making rounds at the park during baseball games and other sporting events. They urge everyone to lock up valuables in the trunk or take them out of the car.