Residents all over Los Altos, from Newcastle Drive in the south to Sevilla Drive in the north, woke up to shattered car windshields and smashed mailboxes.
Between 6:47 and 8:45 a.m. on Dec. 3, more than 12 folks called the Los Altos police and reported vandalism.
"That's a lot for one night," said Los Altos Sgt. Mark Laranjo. "It's pretty unusual," he said.
When Amy McNeil first saw her front windshield in splinters and her back windshield "completely blown out" of her Acura Legend, she thought BB gun.
But, "The police said no - it was from an impact," she said.
One theory is that a pickup truck, with someone in the back wielding a baseball bat, cruised down streets, smashing car windows and mailboxes.
"My first reaction - it's such a nice neighborhood," McNeil said of her home in the 1000 block of Campbell Avenue. "I never thought something like this would happen."
Her car was parked on the street. Her roommates' cars were in the driveway and were untouched, she said.
Because it was raining that morning, water dripped into her stereo speakers and the car's electrical system. She's concerned about damage that goes beyond the broken windows.
Over on Wessex Avenue, vandals smashed the windshield in David Pace's daughter's car. "Nothing was stolen from her car," Pace said. "It was purely vandalism."
When vandalism happens to this extent, the first thought of the police is to see if there was school that day.
During holidays and on teacher conference days, "we see vandalism pick up," Laranjo said. In this case, "I'm assuming it's a group of kids. But I'm only speculating," he said.
Students had class every day during the week of Dec. 1 at Los Altos High School, said a school spokeswoman.
If something was going on with the students, "usually you hear about it," the spokeswoman said, because the students like to talk.
If anyone heard or saw anything, or has any information about the vandalism, call Sgt. Laranjo at the police department at 948-8223.