The Ice Pick Bandit has struck again, at least half a dozen more times, at truck stops in Tennesee and Arkansas, piercing sidewalls of some and/or all of the tires on about 50 rigs in all, in what's most likely the worst run of attacks ever seen.
At Southfork Truck Stop off I-30 at exit 63, the bandit hit 17 trucks last week. Then in the wee hours of September 25 another 25 trucks had their tires poked. The very next night, another few trucks got hit, a representative at Southfork said.
"Drivers woke up to their tires" destroyed, a reader reported to Overdrive of the Southfork attacks. "There was one car carrier" whose load got hit as well, he added, with some of the cars' tires punctured. The reader heard 25 trucks were hit, but also had heard of others some weeks before that.
Despite the volume of attacks, no obvious camera evidence turned up.
"There’s cameras that look out there but it's so dark and there's not enough pixels to tell anything," the Southfork rep said, noting that police reports had been filed there in Gurdon, Arkansas.
Right across the border in Texas, the bandit had been attacking trucks in Hooks and Titus County, earlier Overdrive reporting revealed.
Shortly before midnight on Sept. 11, the Ice Pick Bandit was caught in the act on video, clearly showing his face and method of attack as he used a handheld tool to puncture tractor-trailer tires at a truck stop in Henderson County, Tennessee. During that attack, authorities believe they may have spotted the bandit's truck.
Now, there's something of a viral Facebook post going around that warns of other, more recent attacks.
!!!!!Attention!!!!! Warning for 18-wheeler truck drivers.
During the night last night at three truck stops on I-40 in Tennessee, were hit by an unknown activist group at the moment, according to the shop manager...The TA Truck stop at Denmark, TN had 50 trucks, tires stabbed with holes in the side walls, then at the Loves truck stop at exit 126 Holiday, TN was hit, where 5 tires (sidewalls stabbed several times) on the drivers side were cut on our truck and several other trucks as well, one guy had 9 tires stabbed on his truck, then at exit 163 Loves truck stop, Dickson TN, was also hit with tires stabbed on the side wall of big trucks...Our company has put out an alert for their company drivers...There may be more, and in other states as well, this is unknown at the moment....This means loads will be late, with our food supplies, medical supplies, building supplies, etc...Let your trucking friends know...Tires are expensive..especially for owner operators.Be on the look out!!!Pray for our truck drivers....🙏🙏Shared via a message I gotPlease be safe and vigilant!!
It's unclear who started the post and which company they're talking about, but even though it may read like an urban legend, Overdrive has been able to confirm some of the post.
On the night of Sept. 26, a TA in Denmark, Tennessee, saw about 50 tires (not trucks) punctured, a representative there said. This TA also lacked cameras in the back part of the lot where the attacks took place.
In Dickson, Tennessee, the TA there wouldn't speak on specifics, but did not deny the attack took place.
Representatives at the Love's in Holladay, Tennessee, didn't know anything about the poster's tires being flattened, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.
In Florida, where these kinds of attacks were first flagged more than a year ago along I-75 (also across the border in South Georgia), police request anyone with information about similar incidents or potential suspect(s) contact the Florida Highway Patrol (800-387-1290) or their local Crime Stoppers.
Below are pictures of a potential suspect released by FHP in June of 2023. Find video captured in Henderson County, Tennessee, via last week's report at this link.
Florida Highway Patrol
