Some Twin Cities residents have reported recent incidents with gas thieves, who have drilled holes into their cars’ tanks and drained out the gas.
Toya Stewart Downey had never heard of this type of theft, until her gas suddenly started leaking this week.
She added gas to the tank on Wednesday evening and left her car parked outside her home in north Minneapolis overnight. But when she started it the next morning, the gauge said the tank was empty.
She thought it was a problem with the gauge, but she topped off the tank before her commute just in case. Then she drove across the parking lot and realized there was a problem.
“As soon as I got out of my car, I'm like, ‘What am I hearing that's running?’ And I look and I see gas pouring out of my car,” Stewart Downey said.
The fire department came to clean up the gas and told her someone had likely drilled a hole in her gas tank.
Stewart Downey said her insurance will cover the cost of repairs – about $3,000. She said the incident was frustrating. When she noticed the problem, she’d been on her way to her fourth day on a new job; now, she’s without a car for about a week.
“It’s inconvenient, it's expensive,” Stewart Downey said. “I think you feel violated, especially when something happens to your property, on your property, or on the street in front of your house.”
She reported the incident to the Minneapolis Police Department.
A police spokesperson said the department got about 70 reports of similar thefts in 2024 and 2025. About 12 similar incidents have been reported so far this year.
In St. Paul, police say these incidents might be happening more often. A St. Paul Police Department spokesperson said they’ve received at least seven reports since April 1.
“This is not something we get reports of regularly, to my knowledge,” the spokesperson said.
Stewart Downey said it’s especially inconvenient with gas prices high. She estimates she lost about $75 worth of gas.
