17 Cars Torched on Northwest, West Sides

When Joe Paredes saw a big ball of flames outside his front window this morning, he: "thought a meteorite hit." (Laughs)

But it was an act of nastiness rather than nature. Someone torched his car and five others on his street.

Joe has a garage and is now sorry he didn't use it.

But he said: "My son's Fuzeball table was in the garage. I couldn't put...that's the only thing that stopped me last night."

Police say at least 17 cars were set afire on the West and Northwest sides overnight.

All of them had been parked on the street. They suspect gangs are involved. In every case the fires were started by tossing an accelerant, likely gasoline, under their hoods.

"They just want to be powerful, that's what its about yeah that what its about," said area resident Corey Judkins. He lives on the 1800 block of West Erie where three cars were destroyed, but not his. He now  wonders if all of this is part of a trend, saying: "Yeah, this happened two weeks ago, I think, and it was a big suv."