Man caught on camera slashing, puncturing tires in East Austin neighborhood arrested
AUSTIN, Texas - A group of neighbors came together to find the man who slashed dozens of their East Austin neighborhood car tires, and they were successful.
The attack that happened early Sunday morning was all caught on security cameras and shows a man slashing multiple tires. On Tuesday, neighbors tell FOX 7 Austin that man has been arrested.
"If you come to this neighborhood, we're going to keep an eye and the police will probably catch you," said Tiago Soromenho, victim of tire slasher.
That’s the message neighbors want to make loud and clear after getting the man who slashed dozens of tires in their East Austin neighborhood arrested.
"The neighborhood did come together," said Soromenho.
Neighbors say it was not easy.
It all started Tuesday morning when a photo was sent out by a neighbor on a morning walk on a pedestrian bridge near I-35. The photo shows a man carrying a pole with a red handle, a very similar tool the suspect was carrying in the surveillance footage.
Ten minutes after getting that photo, one neighbor, who chose to remain anonymous for safety reasons, says she felt compelled to find this guy who terrorized her neighborhood not even 48 hours prior.
"I went on a little bit of a stakeout, and I knew he'd go to the Baptist Church feeding center, and that's where I found him," said the neighbor.
She says she found the man not even a mile away from the scene of the crime and immediately called 911.
"They told me to ‘hang out, keep an eye out, do not move, and not approach him. Keep us posted. We're headed your way’," she said.
This was almost the response from dispatchers that neighbors had been getting since the start of reporting the incident, but, for this neighbor, she could see him just right there and she was not going to give up.
"I was trembling, absolutely shaking. This is not normal. You should not have to go out and fight crimes like this, but if I did not go out and fight that crime personally, we wouldn't have caught this guy," said the neighbor.
After about 45 minutes, she says police came and caught the guy in the location she directed them to. She says it was an instant relief for her.
"I started crying and shaking. Every night I lived in fear with this person," she said.
She says she could not have done it without the help of her neighbors who banded together to find the tire slasher.
As for the slow police response time, neighbors said it was frustrating, but they are not upset with how long it took APD to get out there.
"I want to commend the officers that responded because they did a great job, but I want to say thank you for putting this news story out. These are the kinds of things that go on for months, and they don't catch the people. I hope that people can actually go to sleep tonight," said the neighbor.
FOX 7 Austin reached out to APD who said an update would not be available until Wednesday.
___
MORE HEADLINES:
Tires slashed, punctured on multiple cars in East Austin neighborhood
___
DOWNLOAD: FOX 7 AUSTIN NEWS APP
SUBSCRIBE: Daily Newsletter | YouTube
FOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter