A string of home invasions in Holland has public safety officers issuing an alert Friday.
Many of those crimes appeared to have happened under the cover of the Fourth of July fireworks celebrations.
The list of homes that were broken into is a long one.
There are nine total, seven streets targeted, two homes on Birdie Lane and on West 17th Street, one on Beech, 27th Street, Lawndale, Cherry and 21st Street.
Five of those break in’s happened on the Fourth of July.
“I heard about a whole bunch of other people who got robbed this same way just last night and it’s terrible. This should be a good neighborhood, you know, but it’s not,” said William Vanderberg, a victim of theft.
Vanderberg said the thieves left other electronics alone while swiping his TV, his friend and neighbor also said that they got into his home took three couch cushions, but not the couch.
He said the last Fourth of July holiday, his lawnmower was stolen.
However, this time it’s more personal because someone actually came into his home.
At one of the homes on Birdie Lane, a resident told us she was home at the time of the burglary.
She declined further comment, but neighbors said the two break ins here happened sometime after 11 pm.
One neighbor told us that around that time, the fireworks in the neighborhood were so loud, you likely wouldn’t be able to hear someone who was breaking in or trespassing.
A neighbor ho didn’t want to be identified commented on the situation.
“It’s a very quiet neighborhood, that’s why it’s strange that this would happen here, we haven’t had any incidents and we’ve been here for 7 years,” said the resident.
Officials are asking that if you have any information on the break ins, contact the Holland Department of Public Safety at (616) 355-1100 or the Silent Observer program at 1-877-887-4536.
