WASHINGTON — A vandal armed with a black marker is leaving a mark in a Northwest D.C. neighborhood.
Sherry Marts says she and her husband were leaving for an appointment when something caught her attention — “this mark had been scratched on the hood of the car.”
It seems to be the initials “MCV” or “MOV.” Marts says she called police and filed a report.
Then in the middle of last week, the person struck again in the area of 13th Street Northwest and Alaska Avenue.
“My husband called me from his bicycle to say ‘I just rode by the car, there is another mark on it’,” she says.
This time, several cars on her street were also hit, including Pamela Wright’s.
“I woke up in the morning and found the initials MOV on the car,” Wright says.
She says these crimes leave people “scared to leave your car in the neighborhood.”
Not only were cars vandalized; the person also marked up several street signs and even a speed sign on Alaska Avenue that warns drivers to slow down.
On a neighborhood email list, other residents from the area have complained about finding the markings on their cars.
Marts says D.C. police led her to believe that the markings are not gang-related because nothing is being stolen. The police tell WTOP that they are looking into one report of vandalism in the neighborhood.
Marts says her best guess is that the person “possibly has mental health issues, wants some attention.”
She says for her and her neighbors “it’s kind of creepy to know this person is out there in the wee hours of the morning, doing this to our property.”
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