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NATCHEZ — Reports of items stolen out of vehicles have been seen on social media and in police records in recent months as summertime brings a heat wave of potential crime in Natchez.

One commentator on a popular neighborhood app recently reported locked vehicles being broken into twice in the last month in the downtown Natchez area, destroying the driver’s door and leaving the doors open when the crime was done.

Natchez Police Chief Cal Green said she still needed time to confirm if a report had been made on the incident as of Wednesday afternoon but did have a report of items being stolen recently out of the back of work trucks parked at Hampton Inn.

Green said a simple way to mitigate such crimes is by not leaving valuables inside of vehicles, especially weapons, which are often the target item cases of theft from automobile interiors.

“For God’s sake, don’t leave firearms in the vehicle,” she said, “especially not if they’re visible from the windows.”

As a friendly reminder, Green said guns and other targeted valuables such as purses, wallets and electronics should be removed from vehicles and the vehicles locked securely.

Tools and other expensive items shouldn’t be left in the open bed of a truck when parked in a public area, as was the case at the Hampton Inn, she said.