Since July, residents of the Italian village Vastogirardi have been the victim of a serial tire-slasher. In some cases, the culprit cut the tires of the same vehicle more than once.
"It has been very puzzling, as we couldn't work out who could possibly be going around cutting tyres, or what the motive would be," deputy mayor Remo Scocchera said. "It is a peaceful village – we knew it couldn't be anyone from outside as we are always aware of any suspicious movements."
Some villagers wondered whether the rash of slashes was the result of a neighborhood feud or even mafia-related intimidation. After four more reports in quick succession, police went on undercover patrols and eventually mounted surveillance cameras around the vicinity of the crimes.
Turns out, video evidence revealed the serial tire-slasher's identity. He's named Billy. And he's a dog.
"Vets said that Billy's behaviour could be explained by a severe case of gingivitis, which made him gnaw at the tyres in order to relieve the pain," reports The Guardian. "Police are carrying out more checks before officially sanctioning Billy, whose owner will reportedly be responsible for compensating the car owners."
(via Coast to Coast)
