DENTON, Md. - Vandals in Denton are upping the stakes for public safety tonight.
There have been recent reports of tent stakes wedged underneath car tires. There have been 4 reports this week in the neighborhoods of South 3rd St., Fountain Ave., and Academy Ave.
Denton Police Chief George Bacorn says he has never seen anything like this. "We want our community to be aware that we've got some folks running around that may think they're pulling a prank. That could turn into a rather dangerous situation," says Bacorn. He continued to say that these incidents are a danger to public safety and could cause serious traffic accidents.
Police and neighbors took to social media to warn others about these tent spikes.
Melissa Sood has seen three cars in her neighborhood with the spikes underneath tires. She says she can't understand why it's happening in their quiet town. "I'm disappointed and obviously on guard now. I can't understand why anybody would do anything like that to bring any harm or destruction to people's property." She added, "we keep everything locked now. And now that we know this we are checking our cars before we go anywhere just to make sure that nothing is behind the tires."
Although it has not happened to others, now they're taking extra precautions. Thomas Pritchett who lives nearby one of the victims says, "I'm gonna start parking in the backyard from now on. I would recommend that anyone else has a backyard that they can park in to secure their vehicle there. If you can get yourself any kind of security cameras or any kind of home surveillance it would help," says Thomas Pritchett.
According to Denton Police, these spikes can damage the tire, rims, and even the car itself.