Another rash of vandalism is under investigation in Cedar Rapids. Police spokesperson Sergeant Cristy Hamblin says more than a dozen vandalism reports were placed on New Year’s Day. She suspects the vandals struck between 10 p.m. New Year’s Eve and 8 a.m. Sunday.
“We had 13 different reports of criminal mischief in which windows in cars were shot out by BB guns,” Hamblin said. Seven of the reports came from the northwest side of Cedar Rapids. Four reports were from the southeast quadrant of the city and two were from the northeast side. Police are asking for the public’s help to help identify possible suspects.
“We’re hoping within the next day or two we’ll get some phone calls and guidance from the public as to who is responsible,” Hamblin said. The damage follows similar vandalism around Cedar Rapids in November and December.
“The one from November, we were able to arrest two juveniles for that, so hopefully they learned their lesson and aren’t responsible for this,” Hamblin said. Criminal mischief reports tend to rise in Cedar Rapids and other Iowa cities when schools are on break, according to Hamblin.
Anyone with information about the recent vandalism is asked to call Cedar Rapids Police at (319) 286-5491 or Linn County CrimeStoppers at 1-800-CS-CRIME.