In what Fairfax County police have termed a Theft of Vehicle, a late model Mercedes SUV was driven away in the early hours of Friday, July 23 from the 10000 block of Spartans Hollow Court. Video from a neighbor’s security camera, as posted on local social media, appears to show a mid-size car driving past the SUV, then slowing to let three individuals exit. The footage then appears to show three persons approaching the SUV, checking its contents, and driving off in the missing vehicle.

Fairfax County police detectives have been investigating a host of vehicle thefts that have taken place since the beginning of June. Police report that these largely unlocked vehicles are stolen overnight from driveways or unlocked garages. The suspects have also, in several instances, used garage-door openers or keys found in the vehicles to quietly enter houses even while the occupants are at home and unaware of the intrusion. The police additionally report that the thefts are carried out by groups of two or three individuals, who may be armed.

While higher-than-normal thefts have been reported across the county, over half have occurred in the McLean district. Friday’s theft would be the first of this recent wave of incidents to occur in Great Falls, although the Reston police district has reported other recent vehicle thefts. The Vienna Police Department reports that there have also been a higher level of vehicle thefts and break-ins lately.

Since the cars and SUVs are usually recovered in the District of Columbia a few days after they go missing, there is speculation that they are being taken mainly to be used to commit other types of crimes. McLean District Station confirmed that vehicles stolen from its district have been tied to homicides, shootings, robberies, and other crimes, including a stolen vehicle from McLean that was used in a shooting of two victims in the District whose occupants then fired upon law enforcement officers while trying to escape.