Environmental vandals deflate tires of 43 SUVs in Beacon Hill

Dozens of people in Beacon Hill woke up to a rude awakening Thursday when they found the tires of their SUVs deflated.

The culprit: an international environmental activism group dubbed the “Tyre Extinguishers.”

Venturing into Boston for the first time, the Tyre Extinguishers deflated the tires of 43 luxury SUVs late Wednesday night to address what they say is a climate emergency felt around the world.

“The group took this action to render the large greenhouse gas emitting vehicles unusable, directly preventing the outpouring of emission from the vehicles into our atmosphere which further contribute to climate change and air pollution,” according to a release, sent early Thursday morning.

The vandals didn’t target electric or hybrid vehicles nor any vehicles with handicap signage, the group stated. Owners of “large, luxury, gas-powered SUVs” received leaflets on their cars explaining why they were impacted and imploring them to stop using what the Tyre Extinguishers deem as a “dangerous and unnecessary environmental atrocity.”

Part of the leaflet reads, “Even if you don’t care about the impacts on people far away from you, there’s also consequences for your neighbors. SUVs cause more air pollution than smaller cars. SUVs are more likely to kill people than normal cars in collisions. Psychological studies show SUV drivers are more likely to take risks on the road. SUVs are unnecessary, and pure vanity.”

It concludes, “That’s why we have taken this action. You will have no difficulty getting around without your gas guzzler, with walking, cycling or public transit.”

Twitter users, however, begged to differ when reacting to the group’s tweet thread on its “first action in Boston.”

One person stated that this is the wrong city for the group, which goes around the world deflating tires, to be targeting. Some expressed concern as to the predicament that the deflated tires may cause in an emergency.

“What if they need to get someone to hospital? What if they’re an on-call doctor or firefighter? This just seems like vandalism for clout tbh,” one user tweeted.

The group said it targeted Beacon Hill because “it is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Boston to own a house.”

Boston Police did not immediately respond to a Herald request seeking whether the department is addressing Wednesday’s vandalism, and if so, to what extent.

Wednesday marked at least the eighteenth time the Tyre Extinguishers have vandalized SUVs so far this year, according to its website. The most recent situation prior to the one in Beacon Hill came in Bristol, England on April 6, when the group spray-painted “This Machine Kills Kids.”

Since its creation in March 2022, the group claims it has deflated more than 10,000 SUV tires, targeting countries mostly in Europe.

The Beacon Hill incident also comes as the Biden administration is proposing stiff new automobile pollution limits that would require up to two-thirds of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2032, a nearly tenfold increase over current electric vehicle sales.

The Associated Press contributed to this report