Steve Plasch's children woke him one Saturday morning last month to tell him St. Paul police were outside and wanted to talk.

What he learned next came as a surprise:

One of the windows of his Honda Pilot parked out front had been shot out overnight. And Plasch wasn't the only homeowner in his Highland Park neighborhood to get hit.

"It's family neighborhoods over here. There's ton of kids," a frustrated Plasch, 41, said this week. "It's a little bit unnerving to know that there are people driving around the neighborhood shooting out windows."

Police said that Plasch's vehicle is one of more than 100 in a stretch of western St. Paul, from the Midway to Highland Park, to have a window shot out in a vandalism spree that began March 1. This week, police asked for the public's help to catch the culprits.

"You should be able to wake up in the morning and not wake up to a busted out window," said St. Paul police spokesman Howie Padilla.

Luckily for Plasch, his car insurance covered the cost of replacing the window.

Paul Iovino, senior commander of the St. Paul Police Department's Western District, said that police believe the culprits are probably using a BB gun.

"You know, this happens sporadically where all of the sudden we get hit … You wake up to learn several vehicle windows have been broken out and then the following weekend you learn that several other vehicles were damaged as well," Iovino said.

Typically, these types of property crimes are committed by juveniles, he said.

Iovino added that the crimes are often hard to solve because they happen fast and can be difficult to forecast.

Police are asking anyone with information about the spree to call 651-266-5512.

Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495

Twitter: @stribnorfleet