Bloomington woman says Kia stolen with gun inside used in robberies

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - Rosa Maciel uses her Kia Sportage to get to and from work and to take care of her mother who is disabled. But now she is unable to do either of those things after her car was stolen over the weekend.

"I'm feeling really shaken up. I'm feeling bad. I'm feeling helpless," said Maciel.

Maciel says she parked her car at 26th and Blaisdell while she went to a nearby business on Eat Street and when she came out early Sunday morning, her car was gone.

After calling 911 several times, Maciel says she had to wait 3 hours for an officer to contact her so could file a police report, even after she told police she has a permit to carry and had left her loaded gun in the car because the business she was visiting has a no firearms allowed policy.

"I was told we can't give you an estimated time of arrival. We're short-staffed. There's a lot going on in the city," said Maciel.

Minneapolis police say calls for service are prioritized into five different categories, with 0 being the highest priority and auto thefts are a priority 3, the second lowest, meaning it could take hours for an officer to respond.

Maciel says her worst fears came true when police told her her vehicle was involved in three armed robberies later that morning, although its not clear if her gun was used in those crimes.

"I just feel horrible. It's heartbreaking," said Maciel.

Minneapolis police say they are looking at alternatives to more efficiently look into priority 3 auto thefts, but Maciel says changes can't come soon enough.

"I hope my vehicle gets recovered, but my main thing is i hope that people are recovered with my gun. So there's no homicides," said Maciel.

Minneapolis police say last year more than half of all stolen guns were taken from vehicles.

They say permit to carry holders should always have their guns with them or locked in a safe at home.