Unknown person throws paint on cars parked in front of Rogers Park fire hydrant
CHICAGO (CBS) – Vandal or vigilante?
That's the debate on one residential street in Rogers Park. Someone has been throwing paint on cars parked illegally, usually late at night or early in the morning.
As CBS 2's Sara Machi explained, this anonymous act does have its supporters.
Dry paint is permanently dripping over the side of the curb where someone recently poured it on top of parked cars. Photos shared to the social media app Nextdoor showed the damage.
"Nobody has the right to damage anybody else's property," said one neighbor who wanted to remain anonymous. "No one, at all."
The neighbor said her friend saw the man who did it.
"My friend gets up very early for work and parks right here and has seen this person in action," she said.
But is it car vandalism, or kar-ma?
"When you get the full story, it's kind of hard to go to that person and say you deserve to get your car essentially destroyed," said Rogers Park resident William Daniels.
That's because each of the cars was parked in front of a fire hydrant when it happened.
Rogers Park resident James Shinkle said he talked to one of the car owners moments after she found her car covered.
"She was just like, kind of in awe because the paint was all over the windshield and it was all over the back and it was a nice new car, you know," Shinkle said.
And online, some pointed out the paint that's missing.
Unlike that first hydrant, which is just a couple hundred yards away to the west, this one on the same block does still have some yellow paint along it, letting everybody know that they should not park there.
CBS 2 reached out to Chicago police about these incidents, but they said nothing's been reported on the block, leaving neighbors wondering how long they'll have to wait for the paint to run dry.
"The police should be doing the policing, not an individual," said the anonymous neighbor.