EAST EARL, Pa. — Police in Lancaster County are looking for a serial tire slasher, who has reportedly damaged more than a dozen cars over the past week.
According to East Earl Township Police, a male suspect is believed to have slashed the tires of cars in the areas of Edgewood Drive, Cedar Avenue, Poplar Street, Brownstone Ridge, Shetland Circle Drive, and East Earl Road.
“There’s a lot of people out during the night who want to catch this guy," said one man, who had his tires slashed at his home on Shetland Circle Drive. “I woke up Tuesday morning, hopped in my car, and noticed that I had a flat. I started changing the tire and my neighbor came out and said, ‘You too?’ She had four flat tires.”
Multiple neighbors on the same street had their cars slashed at some point last week. According to some neighbors, a few cars were targeted more than once.
“I had [one car] done and then, two days later, had the same vehicle back in," said Derek Bell, who works as a mechanic at Hurst Tire Service in East Earl Township. "We had eight total tires [installed] on that one.”
Employees at Hurst Tire Service say they have served several people who had their tires slashed by the suspect. They say it's unfortunate the crime has sent several people to their garage.
“There’s a lot of hard-working people in this community that work hard for all their stuff," said Bell. "So, the fact that there’s someone going around and acting childish is not a good thing for us.”
Multiple neighbors said they have put up cameras to hopefully catch the person who is responsible.
“We’re looking to do that, to see if we can pinpoint him and get a decent enough picture," said the victim on Shetland Circle Drive.
The suspect is believed to be a man, wearing either a shirt or sweatshirt and carrying a backpack. Anyone with information on the suspect's whereabouts has been asked to contact the East Earl Township Police Department.