Catalytic converters were stolen from eight Smithtown senior center buses, Suffolk police say.

Police say they got the call around 8 a.m. Tuesday after workers came back from the holiday weekend.

Smithtown Public Safety says multiple people were involved and a suspect vehicle has been identified.

Police say they suspect the pricey car parts were stolen sometime between Saturday and Monday.

Officials say thieves have previously stolen or tried to steal catalytic converters from the same buses.

The town is now stepping up security to try to prevent it from happening again.

"We're going to increase our directed patrols, not just the senior center, but every town facility that we have vehicles stored at," says Smithtown Public Safety Chief Thomas Lohmann. "And we're going to take advantage of any technology we can implement to make sure the town assets are protected."

The buses provide transportation to and from the senior center, including to doctor's appointments and dialysis centers.

The town was able to work quickly to fix some of the vehicles and get a replacement bus so that seniors had transportation.

The rest of the buses have since been repaired.