Over 30 Westside Cars Vandalized

City police are investigating 33 car vandalisms that occurred late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning on Santa Barbara’s Westside.

When a San Pascual Street resident called the police at about 6:08 a.m. Thursday morning to report vandalism of their car, officers discovered 23 cars parked on the 1300 block of San Pascual Street had been damaged. The cars had slashed tires and smashed windshields, according to police spokesperson Sgt. Riley Harwood.

Soon after, and just a couple blocks away, Harwood said police discovered ten more vandalized cars on the 1200 block of Gillespie Way. These cars’ tires were slashed, and one car’s side view mirror had been knocked off. Investigators don’t believe anything was stolen from any of the cars.

“It’s pure vandalism,” the Watch Commander said, “The bad part about it, too, is that [repair costs] was a lot of people’s Christmas money.” Because of the two street’s proximity and the time of the vandalisms, Harwood said police believe the incidents are connected.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.