Police are looking for the vandals who flattened the tires of several U-Haul vehicles at its East Third Street location, near Keowee Street in Dayton.
Workers reported to work Monday to discover dozens of tires on nine trucks and five trailers had been damaged. Police are now searching for the people responsible.
The vandalism at U-Haul Moving & Storage of Dayton, 1340 E. Third St., occurred sometime between 4 and 5 a.m. Monday, police said.
The sound of air compressor and pneumatic wrench could be heard all over the U-Haul parking lot Tuesday. Repair work was in full force to get the rental vehicles back on the road.
The vandalism not only cost the company business and thousands of dollars in repairs, but it also cost many potential customers the chance to get a truck for more than 24 hours.
But there were many more victims of this crime spree.
“It’s really frustrating. We don’t have a garage, we have to park on the street. My car had two tires flat and my wife had one of her tires cut,” said Darren Link, who lives on a street just around the corner from U-Haul.
“It’s just senseless vandalism. There’s just a rash throughout the neighborhood, on the other side of the street, too,” he said.
Several of Link’s neighbors also discovered punctured and flat tires, amounting to hundreds of dollars and major inconvenience.
Neighbors are sharing information among themselves and with detectives. They’re hoping officers can make a quick arrest.
U-Haul had most of its trucks running by midday Tuesday, and said they’ll join area residents in tightening security to keep property safe.
The business has video surveillance, which will be reviewed by detectives. Police say that with the video and information from neighbors they should be able to identify those responsible and make arrests.
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