Photo by sally henny penny.

Terrorists are in our midst. Eco-terrorists. (Cue the scary music.)

NBCWashington reported on Friday that “eco-terrorists” (yes, they used quotation marks) have been accused of slashing tires on 20 SUVs in Northwest D.C. According to their report: “Some vehicle owners think the vandal or vandals targeted SUVs to make a point about gasoline usage. Others think it was teens just looking to stir up some trouble.”

“Eco-terrorist”? Really? Beyond our sympathy with anyone who has had their tires slashed — for any reason — it seems mildly ridiculous to apply the term “eco-terrorist,” even if put in quotations. The term itself has long been up for debate, but when police can’t even pinpoint whether or not the tire slashings were the product of extremist environmentalists or a bunch of bored kids, it seems odd to suddenly link such incidents with cases of tree spikings or premeditated arson of ski resorts.

At this rate, we’d expect that the next time a cyclist gets hit by an irate driver, the incident be referred to as “vehicular terrorism.” Or if someone gets robbed by a bunch of kids, it be known as “teenage pack terrorism.”