Holes were punched in tires on 30 new pickups and SUVs parked at Atwood Chevrolet Monday, and police suspect the vandal could be the same one who hit the dealership earlier this year.

“The two incidents are possibly related,” said Vicksburg police Lt. Bobby Stewart.

At about 9:30 Monday morning, an employee of the dealership noticed the flats on tires that lot manager Larry Graham said probably had been punched only hours before.

“You can see that some of the tires are still going down,” he said.

The 120 tires were valued at $30,000.

On Jan. 1, 54 tires were punctured and 11 gas tanks were sprayed with material resembling foam insolation, causing $42,000 in damages, Graham said. Then, too, most of the damaged vehicles were pickups or SUVs, and no arrest has been made.

Vicksburg police Officer Carl Horn said the tires had been punched with a small sharp object.

Atwood, a 57-year-old dealership that has been at 2339 N. Frontage Road since 1984, is one of six car dealerships along the Interstate 20 frontage roads between Halls Ferry Road and Old Highway 27. It is the only one that has reported this degree of vandalism this year, Horn said.

Owner Alan Atwood said he has no idea about a suspect, but he is investigating installing security measures.

“We will be putting up security cameras and looking into hiring a security guard,” he said.