NYPD car stolen undercover in the Bronx possibly inspired by social media ‘Kia challenge’

A group of thieves stole an undercover police car and chased off cops early Tuesday morning — a brazen act that may have been inspired by the viral TikTok challenge, cops and sources said.

When cops arrived for the day shift at a police station in the Bronx, Longwood area, they realized an unmarked Kia was missing, a police source said. The source added that it was stolen at around 1:20 am.

The theft comes after outrageous #KiaBoys hashtag videos encouraged young teenagers to steal certain types of cars off the streets using USB cables.

Like all NYPD vehicles, the Kia had a tracking device. Police responded to the vehicle’s location on Westchester Avenue and Lane Avenue in Westchester Square, where they found four men sitting inside a parked Kia around 11:20 a.m.

When the police approached the car, the driver sped away, sparking a chase, a police source said.

The group’s fun ride finally came to an end 3 miles from the Bruckner Expressway and Bryant Ave. at Hunts Point, where the driver crashed into several parked cars and a barrier before all four fled on foot, the sources said.

On social media, thieves have found that some makes and models of Kia and Hyundai vehicles are easy to steal because they require a mechanical key rather than a key fob and button. Using only a USB cable, they found a way to connect machines to the network.

It is not clear if the hijackers used a USB cable during Tuesday’s incident, police said.

According to police, two 21-year-old men were taken into custody as defendants in the case, but they were later released.

The vehicle assigned to Detective Borough Bronx was returned to the NYPD.

There were no arrests, the investigation continues.