Vandals Shatter Several Manteca Storefronts With Suspected BB Gun
MANTECA (CBS13) — Businesses in downtown Manteca are still cleaning up after vandals blew out the windows of close to a dozen storefronts with what some believe was a BB gun.
Owners say surveillance cameras may have caught the person responsible for the damage, which is now estimated to be more than $10,000.
Surveillance video from a business in downtown Manteca shows the moment windows were shot up by someone inside a vehicle.
Employees say they are still shaken up. Noemi Ferguson works at Studio 1507 in Manteca.
"It was really scary because we didn't know if anybody had gone in and robbed us. We don't have anything valuable worth taking, but we were just scared that somebody intruded," said Ferguson.
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Almost a dozen storefronts were hit, including furniture stores, salons, bookstores and restaurants. The damage is estimated to cost these small businesses more than $10,000 which will put a dent in their already strained budgets.
"Considering that the boarding up in the middle of the night was $400 and change, and the glass was $700 and change, it's roughly $1,200. So it's a lot of haircuts to make up the difference," said Vadre Grigsby of Gavora Studio.
Most of the broken glass has been swept up but a few bullet holes remain. Business owners said the vandals didn't take a dime and despite the damage, they have remained open.
"They just may want to think about what they are doing. It's a small business, we are not making a ton of money. These girls are just getting by too so it's just kind of a wasted act," said Grigsby.
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At one location, an anonymous artist created a mural over the boarded-up windows. The artwork, employees say, has helped raise the spirits of some of the people who now have to work in the dark, at least for the time being.
"It was very cool the way he painted the board because you know to just have plywood it makes the business look run down, or it gives us a bad look, and it actually put a smile on people's faces," said Ferguson.
Businesses are in the process of getting the damage repaired. Windows will be replaced, some owners hope by the weekend.
Manteca Police officers are still investigating the crime. They are asking anyone with information to come forward.