SEATTLE - Nearly 50 metal spikes were mysteriously planted in the shallows of an urban lake popular with swimmers.
"We're horrified, because we can't think of any reason anyone would have placed these except to hurt people," said Dewey Potter, a spokeswoman for the city's Parks Department. "We've never encountered anything like this. It's very bizarre."
Patrick Boltz was wading in Green Lake last Sunday with his wife and 18-month daughter when something cut his foot. He discovered a spike, then yanked out 10 spikes in a matter of minutes. He then alerted the Parks Department.
"It's pretty sickening and depraved," said Boltz, who suffered a small cut between his toes.
The rods were about a quarter-inch thick, and the tips looked as if they had been sharpened, Boltz said.