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Church, business recently vandalized

 

The Austin Police Department is looking for information that could lead to the arrest of a suspect or suspects that are responsible for a series of property damage reports since early May.

According to Austin Police Capt. Todd Clennon, the most recent incident was reported at about 6:26 p.m. on June 10 at the International Word Fellowship Church located at 827 Fourth Ave. NE. It was reported that between 2 p.m. on June 9 and 5:30 a.m. on June 10 an unknown person or persons caused damage to the church door. The reporting party stated he was notified via phone by a fellow parishioner regarding the damage.

An officer observed the word “bozo” written in the door with a pentagram painted in the last “O.” The officer also observed two upside down crosses painted in front of and behind the word.

At about 5 p.m. the same day, an officer was dispatched to Bendixen Jewelry on another report of an unknown person spray painting the side of the building. The reporting party stated an employee noticed the vandalism at about 10 a.m. and that the building had not been spray painted at 3 p.m. the previous day. 

An officer observed the words “bozo” and “odd1” spray painted on the west side of the building in the alleyway. He also observed the number “666” and a pentagram spray painted in white.

The APD has taken other reports of damage to various structures, including an estimated $15,000 worth of damage to the Wescott Athletic Sports Complex Dome. Other reports of building damage include:

• Damage in the women’s bathroom at the Veteran’s Pavilion;
• Destruction of three lights at the Roosevelt Bridge;
• Rocks thrown through the front porch window of a residence in the 1100 block of Fourth Avenue Northwest;
• Graffiti on the roof of the pavilion at Lions Park featuring a smiley face and the phrase “smile peanut”; and
• Graffiti on the Austin Municipal Pool building featuring a smiley face and the phrase “we got this.”

There are no suspects in any of those cases.

Between May 1 and June 8, the APD has taken 23 vehicle damage reports. Most of the reports pertain to smashed windows and windshields, though there have been reports of vehicles being hit with bricks and cinder blocks. One report stated that a vehicle was vandalized with spray paint.

There are no suspects in any of the cases, though one witness reported seeing five or six juvenile Black males break out the back window of a vehicle in the 700 block of Sixth Avenue Southwest. 

Vehicle damage reports have been made at various locations throughout Austin, though the majority have been in the northwest section of town.

Anyone with information that could lead to catching the suspects is encouraged to call the Mower County Law Enforcement Center at 507-437-9400.