Reports of vandalism involve 30 vehicles, five houses
Tires were recently stolen Monday, Jan. 11 from the Bob McCosh Chevrolet car dealership at 1 Business Loop 70. Bob McCosh Chevrolet is the most recent lot involved in a string of dealership burglaries.
The Columbia Police Department responded to 23 reports of vandalism on Tuesday, a CPD news release stated.
CPD spokeswoman Jessie Haden said officers working the case estimate at least 30 vehicles and five houses have been vandalized as of Wednesday, with most of the reports coming from East Columbia.
Cars and houses were defaced using black, blue, purple and yellow spray paint, Haden said. In some cases the paint was used to write racial slurs and profanity.
“The feeling that it will illicit in victims is important to us and we are working hard to identify the person responsible,” Haden said.
Haden also said people may have woken up to an offensive message on their property, but the amount of incidents factors out the chance of the attacks being personal.
“It was definitely random,” Haden said.
There are no leads on who may be responsible for the vandalism, Haden said. In the past, offenses involving graffiti have been committed at the hand of groups of young people. Haden said it is possible that one person may have acted alone.
Crimes of vandalism are considered misdemeanors up to a certain dollar amount of damage, or felonies leading to arrest, bond payment and possible jail time beyond that threshold. Haden said vandalism crimes are normally the result of a long weekend and bad idea of what is considered fun.
Haden also said the value of property damage done this week is not yet known.
The recent acts of vandalism occurred approximately between 4 and 9 a.m. Tuesday, the news release stated. Due to the early time, Haden said it is unlikely for someone to have witnessed the crimes.
Haden also said CPD is reaching out to school resource officers for any information it can obtain on the events.
“We urge anyone who may have seen anything overnight, or who might know who is responsible, to call the police department at 874-7652 or Crime Stoppers at 875-tips,” Haden said the news release.
It is possible someone getting up in the middle of the night or leaving early for work may have seen something that could assist in the identification process, Haden said.