Vandalism of more than 50 cars in Lillestrøm – Greater Oslo

Rune Tangen experienced having his car punctured. – I was furious, pissed off, and disappointed. That it is possible to operate like that. Last Saturday he made the trip from Skarnes, where he lives, to Lillestrøm. He was to perform with his band “The Daltons” at Kulturpuben. – I drove in myself. As I play the double bass, it is good to be able to transport it properly. Rune Tangen. Photo: Rune Tangen After the assignment, his wife drove him home. The car was left in the car park at the Kulturpuben. Just before he was due to take the train to collect it on Sunday morning, he received a call from the local newspaper Romerikes Blad. – I was informed about what had happened. He is not alone. About fifty cases – It’s vandalism on a large scale, so it’s clearly a case we take very seriously, says police attorney Ola Lund in the East police district. Last weekend, one or more unknown people broke into cars in Lillestrøm. At first there was talk of damage to 15 cars. Now it turns out that the scope is far greater. – There are about fifty cases where cars have been subjected to various forms of damage. Among other things, car tires were punctured with a pointed object, and car windows were smashed. No one has been arrested so far. The picture was taken with a dashboard camera. Photo: The police Many tips The police have received many tips in the case. – We are very grateful for that. And the police have certain leads to work on which they hope will lead them to a perpetrator. – Several of these cars have had video cameras on them, where some have captured some of the incidents. The police do not yet know whether one or more people have committed the vandalism. – We do not have a complete picture of it. We are trying to work on identifying the person or people who did it. Has a picture of the perpetrator Rune and his wife drove to Lillestrøm after they were told about vandalism. When they got to the car, it was there with three flat tires. – So then it was simply a matter of getting hold of a tow truck and getting it sorted that way. What have you had to do now in retrospect? The first thing to do was to report the whole thing to the police. Then I documented with the pictures that I have of the perpetrator. How did you get a picture of the perpetrator? I am lucky enough that there is camera surveillance at the cultural pub, so I got the pictures from there. Surveillance images from Kulturpuben show the perpetrator walking up to the car. Photo: Kulturpuben Lillestrøm Expensive for car owners How often cars are subjected to vandalism, the insurance industry does not have a good overview of. But it quickly becomes expensive for the car owner. According to Gjensidige, a new car tire costs from a few thousand Swedish kroner to NOK 10,000-20,000 if you also have to change the rim. A broken car route costs anything from NOK 10,000 and up, says communications manager Bjarne Aani Rysstad. He has an extreme example. – We have replaced the glass ceiling, which we take as glass damage of NOK 250,000. Bjarne Aani Rysstad is communications manager at Gjensidige. Photo: Gjensidige What is your advice to motorists who experience vandalism? – Contact the insurance company and report the matter to the police. Vandalism is covered by comprehensive insurance. If you take it on the insurance, you must pay a deductible. Risking prison The police are now going through all the material they have. The investigation has a high priority. If it leads to an arrest, the punishment can be severe. Basically, there is a fine if you damage a car in this way. – But it is clear that if it is the same person, when it is on such a large scale, then there are other, stricter reactions that will have to be considered. – Can you risk a prison sentence? – In the criminal framework for torts, a prison sentence is a possibility, yes. Although the police have received many tips in the case, they still want people to get in touch. Either they have seen something or they have video surveillance that could be interesting. – All types of information that can lead to clarity about who has done what, and what has happened, is something we appreciate, says police attorney Ola Lund in the East police district. – After all, quite lucky Rune Tangen thinks that he has, after all, been quite lucky in the whole thing. – I’m not directly dependent on the car that way. So it wasn’t a crisis for me. But he thinks of all the others as the poor people who had both broken windows and flat tyres. – People who might be going to work the next day and driving. I feel very sorry for them. What do you think about people who do that? I think there is something psychiatric here. That’s the first thing that strikes me. That’s not normal behavior from normal people, that. Published 11.12.2024, at 12.27 Updated 11.12.2024, at 21.28



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