Man accused of slashing 19 vehicles in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A 25-year-old South Philadelphia man is in custody after officers caught him in the act slashing tires.

Two 17th District officers were responding to a report of a man with a knife in the 1800 block of South Street.

Investigators say when officers arrived about 3:45 a.m. on Thursday, they saw a man with a knife slashing the tire of a parked Mercedes Benz.

As they were taking him into custody, they heard the sound of air leaking from the tires of other cars parked on the block. Police determined that as many as 12 cars had their tires slashed.

A short time later, a security guard at a parking garage in the 1500 block of Spruce Street reported that a man had slashed the tires of five cars before fleeing on foot. She later identified the man as the same one police had taken into custody on South Street.

In all, a total of 19 cars had their tires slashed.

The man whose name has not been released faces charges of vandalism and related offenses.