One girl is carrying what appears to be a large knife and crouches down between cars later found to have slashed tyres.
Rotorua area commander Inspector Herby Ngawhika said police were following strong leads to identify the girls.
Seventeen complaints had so far been made to police by people who found their tyres slashed overnight on Sunday.
Ngawhika said police knew from the Daily Post and comments on social media there were more victims.
Some of the slashed tyres in Rotorua's CBD. Photos / Kelly Makiha
The Daily Post counted 11 cars with slashed tyres on Pukuatua St, Tutanekai St at the Lakefront and Fenton St near Pukaki St early Monday morning. There were also reports of three more on Hinemoa St and others in the Rotorua Central mall carpark.
“We encourage anyone who’s been a victim of this to report it to police, to help us form a fuller and more accurate picture,” Ngawhika said.
The owner of the security cameras that captured footage of the girls did not want to be named, but said the pair’s parents obviously didn’t know where their children were at 4am.
Targeted tourists remain upbeat
British tourists Samantha Evans, 28, and Kara Lumley, 26, told the Daily Post they would return to Rotorua for a proper holiday, despite their time being cut short when their tyres were slashed.
Evans said they parked their rental vehicle on Hinemoa St overnight on Sunday while staying in the CBD.
The rental car driven by English tourists that had its tyres slashed on Hinemoa St. Photo / Supplied
She said she paid for parking from 9am but did not notice three tyres were slashed until they were loading the car to head to tourist attractions at 10am.
A car next to theirs had all four tyres slashed, with a third vehicle across the road also hit.
She said it took several hours to resolve the issue, including reporting the vandalism to police and spending time on the phone with their rental company and insurance company. They were still not sure if they would be charged.
Evans said their insurance covered the car being towed to a nearby tyre store, Bridgestone Select Tyre & Auto Service, where they met at least six others also waiting to have their tyres replaced.
“We were sitting there in the waiting room, and it was a bit comical in a way. They’d walk in and we’d say ‘Slashed tyres?’ and they’d say ‘Yeah’.”
Evans said they swapped stories about their tyre woes.
Samantha Evans and Kara Lumley played card game Monopoly Deal with other slashed-tyres victims while they waited for their cars to be fixed. Photo / Supplied
“We ended up playing cards with some of them while we waited. Everyone was really friendly, including Mohamad [Safraz], the manager, who let me use his phone to make calls.”
Evans said they had to cancel their plans for the day to visit tourist attractions, including Skyline Rotorua.
“We are only in New Zealand for two weeks and, obviously, wanted to do lots of things in Rotorua. But we are both positive people, and if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.”
She said they were sending videos and photos back to their families in Britain.
“They were a bit worried about us and asking if we were safe.”
English tourist Kara Lumley enjoys a free coffee while she waits for her slashed tyres to be changed. Photo / Supplied
Evans said she reassured them they were okay and said they would not let the situation dampen their feelings towards Rotorua.
She said Lumley was particularly happy with getting free coffee while they waited for their tyres to be changed.
“We will come back to New Zealand, hopefully in a couple of years, and we will do Rotorua properly.”
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
