NBC 7’s Dave Summers spoke to witnesses and victims of the vandalism incident.
San Diego police are on the lookout for a woman who used a golf club to smash the windows of at least 15 cars in the middle of the night in Encanto.
Neighbors near the Encanto trolley stop at 62nd Street and Akins Avenuewere startled out of their beds around 2 a.m. Tuesday morning.
“Just a smash. I didn’t hear too much, just bashing car windows," one witness, who wished not to be identified, told NBC 7.
It happened just below Carla Perez’s apartment.
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“I was really shocked because that doesn’t usually happen. Nobody comes over here and busts out windows," Perez added.
Police say 15 cars parked along Akins Avenue had their windows smashed out.
“I thought it was like a crowbar or a bat,” Perez said.
That’s what police thought at first, but it was later determined to be a woman with a golf club, investigators said.
The Encanto neighborhood is primarily low-income and affordable houses. It’s a working-class neighborhood where people own their cars but may not have a place to park them. So they leave them on the street where they become most vulnerable
“A lot of us over here, we’re on low income, you know, so they can’t afford alarms in their cars. Some people didn’t realize till this morning their car was hit," Perez said.
Such is the case for the owner of a white Nissan who lost a windshield, driver’s side and rear windows. His son parked it on Akins Avenue even though they live several blocks away. They found out about it when NBC 7 contacted them by phone.
“Oh damn. I did not know that," the surprised owner said.
No arrests have been made, so for some, Tuesday could be a restless night. Others are keeping a sharp eye out.
“If she comes back and messes with other people’s cars, you know it’s going to be trouble for her, not for us," a witness said.
SDPD's Southeastern Division is investigating.
