It has been a frustrating experience for drivers in Northern Virginia who have walked up to their parked vehicles in the morning only to find that they are not drivable.
They had their tires slashed. Something that’s been happening more and more lately, according to police.
“We have 22 vehicles that were reported to have their tires slashed,” said Lisa Herndon, a spokeswoman for the Herndon Police Department.
The tires were slashed in three locations in the Town of Herndon over the past 10 days.
A condo community on Alton Square near Van Buren Street was significantly impacted, as 14 vehicles all had their tires slashed.
“I came out and pretty much all the cars were just like leaning to the left,” said one resident who did not want to be identified by name.
“It was a mess because you saw every tire, every car hit in this row,” she explained.
The resident told WTOP she had experienced similar problems in the past.
“I’ve been here going on four years, and when I first got here, I had my window busted,” she said. “The vandalism is not new.”
Police are investigating it as cases of vehicle tampering or destruction of property, but they don’t have any proof that all the incidents are related.
“We have reached out to our partner agencies to see if they’ve had similar cases and to see if we can connect these,” Herndon said. “Right now we’re just looking to let people know that this is going on.”
Herndon acknowledged that there is no way to prevent such a thing from happening, but she encouraged everyone to park in a well-lit and familiar area and to talk to neighbors to figure out who has doorbell or security cameras.
“When you see something or someone walking around that’s a little suspicious, definitely give us a call,” Herndon added. “We’re really sorry that this has happened to our residents.”
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