KENNEWICK, WA -- It was dark and early, about 1:30 in the morning, when someone living on West 4th Avenue in Kennewick peaked out the window and saw two suspicious men breaking into cars. That person called police and soon after officers arrested 18 year old Daniel Calton, of Lake Tapps, WA, and a 17 year old male from Benton City for the alleged crimes.

But the damage had already been done.

Thieves stripped, keyed, flattened and damaged more than three dozen cars in one night. It all happened on the east end of the Kennewick Housing Authority, along 5th and Sharron and 4th and Vancouver. By morning, the community woke up to chaos. Neighbors walked out of their homes wide-eyed to their broken cars.

"Get around the other side Mickey and see if it starts. See if the pulled out any wires," Neighbor Roxanne Shumski advised another neighbor.

Then they realized another car had been hit, and another.

"It looks like they were just looking in every car they possibly could," Kennewick Police Sgt. Ken Lattin said.

"I came out this morning to take my little boy, he's seven years old, to school and we saw the car, several of the cars had been slashed, all the tires," Michelle Fennern said, who's tires were cut up.

It didn't take long before Fennern realized every tire on every car near her home had been slashed. In some cases, glass shards littered the street where the thieves busted out windows for CDs, DVDs, even gas caps.

Manuel Ramero's car was hit hard too. The thieves plucked emblems right off the car, snipped every wire under the hood, stole speakers and stereos, and keyed the hood.

"I just want to fix my car but I don't even have money to fix the plates," Romero said, with the help of a Spanish-speaking translator.

"A lot of us don't have a lot money, that's why we live here," Fennern said. "A lot of us are single moms with kids and don't have the money to pay for tires."

"I think it's messed up. I mean, I don't understand why someone would deliberately do something like that," neighbor Roxanne Shumski said.

"Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason why a particular neighborhood gets hit, it just happens to be the vicinity they're in," Lattin said.

The thieves, 17 and 18, weren't even from this area. One was from Benton City, the other from Lake Tapps on the west side. Police said motive likely came down to quick cash.

"Things that they can easily trade or sell or pawn," Lattin said. "They were going for the easy stuff."

After the initial shock wore off, many spent the morning fixing what they could. Most were coping with what they'd lost.

"Well we were in shock and my little boy was wondering 'how are we going to be able to go trick-or-treating?" Fennern said, visably upset. "And today when I pick him up I want to assure him that we will be able to go trick or treating somehow."

"I think they should step up security," Lowell Pond said, victim.

Action News did talk with the Kennewick Housing Authority director and security director who both said they regularly work with Kennewick Police to protect their tenants.

In the meantime, the suspects face multiple counts of theft and malicious mischief. They could even face felony charges depending on the property damage.

Police were able to recover several of the stolen items. If you think someone was in your car or you're missing something, call Kennewick's emergency dispatch number at 628-0333.

If you'd like to help out people in this community, email chelseak@keprtv.com.