Car windows shattered around Whittier may have been shot out by BB gun, police say

At least 70 cars in and around Whittier had their windows shattered late Thursday, and authorities are asking for the public’s help in catching the vandals.

The Whittier Police Department received dozens of calls about vandalized vehicles during a 90-minute span beginning about 10 p.m., according to the agency’s Facebook page.

Authorities think the car windows may have been shot out with a BB gun or pellet gun, and police are investigating similar destruction in neighboring La Habra and a shooting in Pico Rivera that may be related.

Dozens of vehicles along Greenleaf Avenue in Whittier had their side and rear windows blown out, police said.

The number of vandalized vehicles is expected to rise as people discover the damage, Whittier police Officer Hugo Figueroa said.

Authorities think the vandals — three men — were in a newer, gray four-door Honda, Figueroa said. No further details were provided.

During the same time, five vehicles in La Habra had their windows shattered in the 1000 block of Dolores Street, according to La Habra police Sgt. Scott Irwin.

“It’s nowhere near the scale Whittier had,” Irwin said. “We basically went out and looked at the damage and left notes on windshields to contact us.”

By 10:30 p.m., reports of gunshots had reached Pico Rivera. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies with the Pico Rivera station and paramedics responded to the 6200 block of Rockne Avenue, where a man said he had been shot in the arm by a BB gun, Sgt. Jonathan Branham said.

The man suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene, authorities said. It was not immediately clear where he was when he was struck.

Police are investigating the incidents, but can’t say whether they are related. Authorities are asking residents to check home security cameras to see whether the crimes were captured on video and to file a police report if their vehicles were damaged.