Keyser City Police are seeking the public’s help in investigating a rash of tire slashings that occurred Sunday and Monday.
Police first became aware of the problem when a resident in the 100 block of South Main Street called at 5:10 p.m. Sunday to report that the tires had been slashed on their vehicle parked outside the residence. While investigating that destruction of property, the officer noticed a second car nearby whose tires had also been slashed.
On Monday, police were notified at 8:55 a.m. of a tire slashing in the 400 block of North Main Street. And then at 11:30 a.m., they responded to a report of two cars with slashed tires on Armstrong Street, across from the courthouse.
Police urged residents to keep an eye on their neighborhoods and report any suspicious activity, saying the public is the best source of information for solving such cases.
“If they see something out of the ordinary, let us know and we’ll investigate it,” said Karen Shoemaker, chief of the Keyser City Police Department.
Ironically, Shoemaker and Keyser Mayor Glen “Bunk” Shumaker, at the time a member of the Keyser police force, were the arresting officers in a similar slashing spree that occurred about 10 years ago. That case was solved when a resident called police to report suspicious activity, and the officers caught the suspect in the act. The case ended in a conviction.