Long Beach store owners said they are frustrated with continued crime after a vandal smashed the windows of more than a dozen businesses.
Surveillance video captured the man walking in the East Village Arts District shortly before midnight Thursday.
He went on a violent window-smashing spree, destroying nearby storefronts and parked cars that landed within his sight.
Using a device in his hand, he randomly smashes windows before casually walking away each time.
“He broke 15 business windows last night,” said Michael Mosselli, owner of Brushstrokes and Beverages.
Even though Mosselli’s store wasn’t vandalized, many of his neighbors weren’t so lucky.
“Those poor guys,” Mosselli said. “These windows are very expensive to replace. It’s just big windows, old buildings and this shouldn’t continue to happen.”
Witnesses said the suspect also broke dozens of car windows near a Chase bank parking lot near Ocean Boulevard and Elm Avenue.
Long Beach residents and business owners said they were tired of constant crime and wanted local authorities to intervene.
“It took a long time to break that many windows and no cops showed up,” Mosselli said. “I understand that they are overworked and busy, but it takes a long time [for the suspect] to break all these windows.
Long Beach police said they identified and located the suspect Friday afternoon and took him into custody.
Residents said Long Beach’s increasing homeless population, along with unpunished nonviolent crimes, made it difficult to run a successful business in the city.
“This should not continue to happen,” Mosselli said. “Because it happened with the homeless. This has happened to people with mental illness. Things like this happen daily. Hopefully the city does something about this. This has to stop. »
The motive behind the broken window remains clear. The identity of the suspect has not been released as the incidents remain under investigation.
Anyone who was a victim or has additional information about the case can call the Long Beach Police Department at 562-435-6711.
Business owners who have been vandalized are encouraged to consider the city’s visual improvement program, where they could receive up to $1,500 in financial assistance to help them recover from a crime or vandalism.
Information about the Long Beach Visual Enhancement Program can be found here.