Metro Nashville Police officers said they've seen a recent trend of reported firearm thefts at valet services.
Since the start of 2018, 25 firearms have been stolen out of vehicles in the Midtown-Hills area, according to police.
Of those incidents, at least three firearms were taken while vehicles were in valet parking areas.
"A person drives up, leaves the car with a valet and they have a firearm either in the glove compartment or console but the firearm is not secured," Metro Lieutenant Blaine Whited said.
Whited suggested owners carry their gun on their person if they have a gun-carry permit or leave their firearms at home. He also recommended investing in a gun cable lock or trigger guard.
"They can actually run the cable lock through the trigger guard and into something that's secured in the car such as the vehicle seat. And they can secure it to that and you're not getting the gun out of the car without the key," Whited said.
Whited said it's unclear who has been taking guns out of the valet vehicles, but police do not want them ending up in the wrong hands.
"These guns are going to be used in homicides. Also, you see robberies are up. This is a big concern for us in the Metro police area in Nashville," he said.
He said burglaries at gun shops or in residential homes were still the top places burglars target but Whited wants gun owners to be mindful of valet services as well.
