Tires on 13 vehicles slashed in Newport

Several car owners woke up Tuesday morning to see their tires slashed, according to Newport Beach police.

Police received two calls about 7 a.m. with reports of vehicles in the vicinities of 33rd and Lake streets, and 32nd and Lake streets, having slashed tires.

Police spokeswoman Kathy Lowe said 13 vehicles were vandalized.

She said the police will note the affected cars and contact the owners via the license plate information.

Lowe said the city has seen 352 acts of vandalism in the first 10 months of 2011, compared to 345 during the same period last year. However, those numbers reflect all vandalism, not just vehicle-related.

“This particular type of vandalism is fairly uncommon and certainly the number of vehicles vandalized this morning is concerning,” Lowe said in an email.

— Joanna Clay

Twitter: @JoannaClay