MAP: Rash of BB gun vandalism hits across Austin
Published 10:29 am Saturday, May 1, 2010
Austin police have recently been investigating at least 16 different reports of vandalism caused by BB gun fire. Calls first started coming in early Wednesday, and it is believed that many if not all of the incidents occurred between late Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
However, reports continued to trickle in on Thursday and Friday. The following map depicts the location of 16 BB gun-related incidents that were called into the Austin Police Department between Wednesday at 4 a.m. and Friday at 1:30 p.m. The information was provided by the APD.
Among the locations are at least four businesses — Citi Financial Services on Main Street, Ruskell Hardware on 18th Avenue Northwest, Jerry’s Other Place on Main Street and Subway on Oakland Avenue. Many of the other cases involve damage to vehicles, though some calls came in for damage to residences.
Police did receive a possible suspect vehicle description from one witness. That vehicle is being described as a dark-colored, older and smaller SUV. No make or model has been determined, though police said it was similar in style to a Chevrolet Blazer.
Police have not, however, identified a suspect or suspects, and Lt. John Mueller said it is too early in the investigation to say definitively how many people were involved and whether all the cases were related.
The overall damage is estimated at several thousand dollars.
Anyone with tips is asked to call the Austin Police Department at (507) 437-9400.