Mesquite and Garland PD investigating BB gun vandalism cases
A second North Texas police department is now involved in the investigation into a string of BB gun shootings targeting parked cars.
FOX 4 previously reported that Garland police had about 19 cases in the past few days in mostly one neighborhood. Now, several Mesquite residents say it's been happening there, too. One neighbor says he caught the vandals on camera.
Garland police confirmed on Thursday that they had a detective in Mesquite checking on some possible suspect video. They told FOX 4 on Wednesday they believe it’s likely one group or one person doing it.
A glass company was hard at work Thursday afternoon on James Ellis' van to repair the damage. He says it happened as it sat empty Wednesday in the alley behind his house on Woodlawn Parkway in Mesquite.
“I was back in the office doing some work,” Ellis recalled. “And the local Mesquite police came to the door and escorted me to the back of the house and showed me the damage.”
Two windows near the back were shattered. But the biggest pain is that it took a vehicle out of service. Ellis says it’s so much more than just a van.
“It's meant to escort my wife around town wherever she needs to go,” he said. “She's got no legs and no transportation without the van.”
Just down the alley. a neighbor showed what his cameras captured around the same time. The video shows a vehicle drive down. A person can be seen in the front and back seat. At least one of them was holding what looks like a gun and one possibly holding a phone up. It shows the glass shatter on the back of a van.
“I don’t think they care about the pain for anyone else,” Ellis said. “All they're looking for is enjoyment.”
It's a similar description to what's played out in Garland over the last few days. In neighborhoods near I-30, there have been at least 19 people report their windows damaged. In all of the cases, parked car windows were the target.
Steven Gauss and his mother, Lynette Gauss, returned home to find their windshield smashed. Some of their neighbors said it happened to them too on a handful of streets near White Rock Lake in Dallas. DPD has not confirmed the incidents or said if it's involved in the Garland and Mesquite investigations.
Lynette can't help but wonder.
“Why did you do it?” she asked. “What was the fun? What have you achieved with this?”
While Garland PD said they were in Mesquite on Thursday investigating, Mesquite PD said they would try to release more information about the cases but never did. It's unclear how many people are affected or the exact locations.