ST. LOUIS — St. Louis police are looking for a thief who stole a catalytic converter from a vehicle parked at a Schnucks in South St. Louis this week.
The crime happened on Monday around 3 p.m. at the grocery store at Interstate 55 and Loughborough.
The thief was caught on camera in a viral video.
The victim said she was only in the store for a few minutes, just long enough for a man to slide underneath her SUV, cut off the converter and get away.
The viral video has been seen by more than 200,000 people.
"People are out of work over it," said Eric James of St. Louis Hills Auto Service. "They can't drive their cars. They are losing a whole lot more than people realize. Thieves don't care. It's platinum, rhodium, and palladium. If you break them down, that's where the money is at."
James said every other day, a car without a catalytic converter pulls into his lot. Some shops and drivers are taking precautions to reduce the resale value. Painting, engraving, and welding cables to converters is becoming more common. James said it's not always effective.
"You can see they spray-painted it," James said. "You can grind that stuff right off. This one had a cable attached to it that they just cut right through that. A caged system is better," he said. "I've been welding rebar on them. We've been welding cages around them. It deters them. If they want it they will get it. It will slow them down and make them second-guess the car and at least move on to another one."
James said it costs around $1,000 to replace. The auto body owner also said a lot of times thieves will cause additional damage while stealing the converter, meaning more money for repairs for victims.