Tarentum police find spiked 'caltrops' on Brackenridge streets
Tarentum police received reports — and later discovered — small spiked “caltrops” scattered in Brackenridge on Tuesday.
Police said they confirmed reports that the caltrops — multi-spiked metal objects designed to puncture vehicle tires — were found in the area of First Avenue as well as Brackenridge Avenue.
Police said anyone with information about the person responsible for placing the caltrops or where they came from is asked to call police at 412-473-3056.
Earlier this summer, police in Paso Robles, Calif., investigated a similar case, after receiving more than 40 reports of car tires being damaged by caltrops that appeared to be made of bent steel fencing.
Tarentum police said that as of 10:15 p.m. Tuesday night, they hadn’t found any or received any more reports of the caltrops on the street.
Caltrops are an ancient weapon, used by the Roman army to slow advancing armies by damaging wheels and horse hooves. They are designed such that at least one sharp point is always facing upward.
On a much larger scale, caltrops were the inspiration for anti-tank “hedgehog” defenses in early-20th-century warfare. During the D-Day invasion of Normandy in World War II, German troops stationed massive caltrop hedgehogs on beaches in France to prevent American tanks from gaining beach access, and the Soviet army used them extensively as well.
They can be purchased on Amazon, listed as “anti-theft” or “anti-bird” spikes.
Shawn Creevey, manager at Highland Tire in Natrona Heights, said all three Highland Tire locations had been seeing an increase in customers because of caltrops.
He was able to remove a few caltrops from tires, and upon inspection said they looked “like machines piece of metal.” He could not determine if they were homemade or manufactured.
Creevey explained that the angle of entry when sharp objects come into contact with car tires determines how much damage is done, and how much a customer may have to pay.
Tire replacement costs can vary from vehicle to vehicle, but Creevey said customers haven’t been pleased with the cost of repairs.
“It’s nothing cheap,” Creevey said. “This is definitely… an unseen expense for no reason.”
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.