Car windows smashed, Milwaukee business helps victims for free
MILWAUKEE - Several residents of Milwaukee's Lower East Side woke up Saturday morning to find their car windows smashed.
They're the latest victims in what has become a series of recent break-ins in the area. Now, one local business is helping people pick up the pieces.
"This morning, I got a buzz at my apartment, and it was an officer," said Madison Hicks. "He said, ‘Hey, this whole street of cars got its windows punched in – yours is one of them.’"
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It's a problem that can't easily be swept under the rug. Hicks has parked on the street for four years and never had her window broken; that is, until now.
FOX6 reached out to the Milwaukee Police Department for more information on the break-ins, but did not hear back by the deadline for this story.
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Business steps up
Police told Hicks, she said, that more than 10 cars were hit overnight. It's an issue one local business is no stranger to.
"We’ve been dealing with this since I opened – 16 years – but, this is the worst that we’ve seen," said Mazen Muna, owner of Metro Car Wash & Detailing.
Muna's business is just a few blocks away from where hundreds of cars parked for Brady Street Festival on Saturday.
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"There’s no more – like this is just happening overnight," he said. "No, this can happen in broad daylight during a festival. It doesn’t matter."
That's why Muna is helping people, like Hicks, pick up the pieces.
"I think it’s the right thing to do to help people out," he said.
Metro Car Wash & Detailing helps victims of car break-ins for free
Over the past four days, Muna and his team have cleared glass and patched up smashed windows for 55 cars – for free.
"There’s too much ugly in the world for us to not contribute and help the good of people," said Muna.
It's a short-term fix that's making a big difference. Muna said any victim can come get help.
"I’ve had people I’ve never met stop and say thank you for what you are doing," Muna said. "That made a long stressful day much better."