Hillcrest residents have been finding flyers on their cars threatening to pop their tires and break their car windows if they dare to park in certain areas.
The flyer reads:
“Do not park. If we find you parking within three blocks … we will pop tires and/ or break your windows. Sincerely neighborhood watch…. One warning."
It’s not clear where exactly in Hillcrest the flyer is telling people not to park, but neighbors on social media mention seeing some of them in the blocks close to Fourth Avenue.
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"I wouldn't expect it in Hillcrest,” said visitor Jessica Nunez.
“I guess it's like, damn, it's Pride. You're about to do that to gay people on Pride Month?” said Meggie Parlmer, who’s only lived in the neighborhood with her roommate Nadia Groce for a week.
“I'm more just like kind of disappointed that like, ‘Oh, you moved to this place that’s like, inclusive,’ and like, you know, that part of town, and the first week we're moving here it’s like, ‘Okay, watch out for the guy that's popping tires,’” Nadia said.
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“I can’t afford to get all my tires replaced right now," Nunez parked along Brookes Avenue in a handicapped space. She tried to imagine coming back to the note on her car.
“That would not be okay,” she said. “I'm allowed to park in a handicapped zone no matter where I'm at, at any neighborhood, anytime that it’s handicapped zone. It's accessible to me.”
If someone parks in a handicap accessible zone like Nunez and has their placard, then they’re legally in the clear. These are public streets, so as long as someone is following the signage on the road, they’re fine. If anyone still targets their car, then they can file a report and/or press charges.
When Hillcrest visitor Dani C. got wind of the flyer, she was actually more worried about her personal safety than her car.
“If I found that on my car window, I think I would probably think somebody was trying to kidnap me,” she said. “Because usually women, when they see something on their windshield like that, it's usually not a good sign. So, I usually don't touch the signs. I just let them be.”
She urges anyone to check their surroundings and make sure they’re safe before grabbing the paper. San Diego police said they are working with affected residents to try to find who’s doing this and see if they’ve followed through with any of their threats. Police encourage anyone affected to hold on video footage they can use to investigate. Neighbors can file a report in person, by phone or online under the city’s police services tab.
