A series of tire-slashing incidents have hit one Northwest D.C. neighborhood in the past two weeks, and residents are searching for answers.
More than 25 cars have had their tires slashed in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood as tires have been irreparably damaged on Kenyon and Harvard streets, according to WJLA-TV.
The attacks have sometimes involved slashing multiple tires on the same car.
One resident who spoke with WJLA said cost is one issue — with a new set of tires sometimes running $1,000 or more — but it’s also a health hazard for others.
“Also on the block we have a lot of families and seniors who are in treatment,” the resident told WJLA. “Maybe a cancer treatment, dialysis treatment, you come out, life is tough enough and you’ve got a medical appointment, boom, your car is disabled.”
A reader of D.C. blog PoPVille wrote on July 25 that his car and three others parked near the Harvard Street entrance to the National Zoo each had their front passenger side tires slashed overnight.
That reader warned people about parking in the Adams Morgan and Woodley Park neighborhoods as well.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department told the Washington Times that they have received only one report of a tire slashing incident.
The July 15 report said a car had both of its driver-side tires slashed on Kenyon Street.
Police encourage victims to contact them and make a report.
A climate activist group based in the United Kingdom and known as the Tyre Extinguishers has been deflating SUV tires in major American cities for the past couple of months.
A representative for the group told The Washington Times that unless one of its leaflets were left behind, the group has no affiliation with the reported incidents.
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