Pinehurst police are investigating a string of incidents in the Lake Pinehurst area in which car windows had been shot out by BB guns.

Just after midnight Tuesday, police officers stopped a silver Honda Accord after the driver ran a stop sign at the intersection of Diamondhead Drive and Burning Tree Road. When the officer asked the driver for a license and registration, he noticed two BB handguns in the glovebox, according to Capt. Floyd Thomas.

The officer arrested the two occupants of the car -- Cameron Robert Tysinger, 20, of Aberdeen, and Devon Michael Brady, 20, of Pinehurst -- and charged them with carrying a concealed weapon. The officer brought them to the police station for questioning, Thomas said.

A search of the vehicle revealed a BB rifle in the trunk, as well as a cache of BBs and CO2 cartridges.

Police said that Tysinger was driving the car and Brady was the passenger, though the vehicle is registered to Brady's mother.

Thomas said the guns were purchased from Walmart in August.

The incidents are still under investigation, and police have yet to charge anyone for the window shootings. The charges would be misdemeanor damage to property. Thomas said Pinehurst is working with other law enforcement agencies on the case.

At the time of the traffic stop, Pinehurst police received a call from a resident on Burning Tree Road who claimed someone had shot at her house. Thomas said who ever is responsible for that shooting could be charged with shooting into an occupied dwelling, which is a felony.

Thomas said 26 of these incidents have occurred since Aug. 1, and that 31 vehicles have been damaged.

Four more cars were damaged in the early hours of Monday morning, police said -- two on Burning Tree Road, one on Diamondhead Drive and another on Lake Forest Drive.

Thomas said the department had stepped up patrols and has dispatched unmarked cars to the area. It even had a checkpoint one weekend.

Thomas still recommends that residents contact their local community watch groups if they see any signs of suspicious activity. He also encourages residents to park their cars in their garages if they have one. If not, they should at least park them in the driveway close to their homes instead of on the street, he said.

"We're relieved that we believe the vandalism is over with as far as shooting car windows out," he said. "It was good police work by all those involved."

Contact Staff Writer John Krahnert III at (910) 693-2473 or by e-mail at jkrahnert@thepilot.com