SUV Attacks May Be Eco-Terrorism

More than 30 gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles have been vandalized in the Richmond area over the last few months, many with an acid-like chemical, and authorities are investigating whether a radical environmental group is responsible.

Police and the FBI want to know whether the attacks are the work of the Earth Liberation Front, an international underground organization that uses economic sabotage.

Although the culprits left behind notes saying the vandalism was the work of the ELF, Sgt. Tom Shumate, spokesman for the Henrico County police, said authorities have not definitively linked the group to the vandalism.

The ELF did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment on the vandalism.

Twenty-five SUVs were damaged at a car dealership in late September. “Vandals put some type of glass-etching spray on the windows, an acid-type chemical that tints the glass where you can’t see through it,” Shumate said.

The same type of chemical was used to etch “ELF” into the plate-glass windows at three fast-food restaurants.

In early October, vandals again struck two SUVs. It appeared one was hacked with a hatchet, and the other was smashed with a sharp object, police said.

Vandals also have slashed tires on SUVs, the most recent attack coming Nov. 16, when five vehicles were damaged. There was also a spate of SUV tire slashings in July in the city’s fashionable Fan District.

Lawrence Barry, spokesman for the FBI in Richmond, declined to say Tuesday what the investigation has found.

ELF and its companion group, the Animal Liberation Front, are responsible for more than 600 cases of eco-terrorism around the country, ranging from spray-painting buildings and breaking windows to firebombing fur farms and research centers, according to the FBI.

The groups have caused an estimated $43 million in damage, the FBI said. The most destructive attack was a $12-million blaze at a Vail, Colo., ski resort in 1998, for which the ELF claimed responsibility.