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	Photo by Sam Yu A number of broken car windows, possibly shot out with a BB or pellet gun, have been reported in Frederick in the past few days. This car with a broken driver’s side window was found Wednesday in the first block of West South Street.

Officers have taken 38 reports of damage from Monday to Wednesday morning. The destruction stretched across several neighborhoods.

Around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, officers started receiving calls for damaged vehicles from several locations: Jubal Way and Monocacy Boulevard, North Market, North Bentz, West South and West All Saints streets.

By 7 a.m., they had heard 23 reports of damage. Police believe the vandalism took place after 2:15 a.m. Wednesday.

The first call about Monday's spree came around 3:30 a.m.

Eight vehicles in the area of East 16th Street and Eden Drive were hit, and five were damaged in the Willowbrook North Crossing neighborhoods.

The damage is believed to have been caused by a blunt object or a BB, said Lt. Clark Pennington.

Two vehicles in the 200 block of South Market Street also lost windows to BBs. By 11 a.m. Monday, officers had taken 15 reports.

Officers are investigating whether the two sprees are related, he said. Nothing was taken from any of the vehicles.

While he did not have a cost estimate for total damage, Pennington said, "We are looking at thousands of dollars."

Patrols have been increased in the areas hit, and Pennington encouraged residents to call the department if they see anything suspicious.

"We are very receptive for all calls for service," he said.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office is also investigating a string of windows shot out with a BB gun.

Last week, 11 to 13 vehicles and a house lost windows to pellets in the Maugansville and north Hagerstown area, said Karie Kirchoff, a crime analyst with the department. Those shootings also happened overnight, and nothing was taken from any vehicle.

The sheriff's office believes all the damage there was done by the same person.

"We believe the person lives in the area," Kirchoff said.

She did not believe the Washington County cases are related to the Frederick ones.

Givens Collision Repair Center on Tilco Drive in Frederick recently finished working on a vehicle that had the side window shot out and a BB shot into the side door, said manager Rex Ransom. It had been parked in the Brunswick area at the time.

The vehicle had been in the shop for four days, and the bill was about $1,200, he said.

Shot-out windows can be labor-intensive to fix, Ransom said. For a windshield, wipers need to be taken off, along with wires to activate rear defrosters. In some cases, hoods need to be removed. A side window repair may require the door to be taken apart.

Repairs on a windshield take a day. A side window may require one to two days to fix, he said.

Windows are designed to shatter so people are not severely cut by large pieces of glass during a crash, but that makes cleanup difficult.

Shards of glass wind up in a variety of places, including air conditioning vents, seats and the steering column, Ransom said. If the vehicle is not properly cleaned, the glass will make a rattling noise while the vehicle is being driven. For cars, Ransom charges $50 for glass cleanup, but for bigger sport utility vehicles the fee may be more.

A windshield may cost an owner between $350 to $1,100 including labor, he said. A side window is a little less expensive and may vary from $150 to $300 for repairs and between $80 and $250 for labor.

Another problem for vehicle owners may be auto insurance.

If an individual only has liability insurance, it will not cover window repair or replacement, he said.

Anyone with information should call police at 301-600-2100.