Crime & Safety
Vandals Scratch Swears, Lines Into 27 Vehicles
Police say a vandal, or vandals, targeted 27 cars, trucks and vans in Tinley Park over the weekend, carving words like "gay" and "a--hole" into their hoods, trunks and side panels. All were parked in the same general area, according to the report.
In a less-than eight hour overnight window, police say someone scratched random symbols, lines and curse words into 27 vehicles that were parked within the village.
The damage translated into 19 police reports being filed at the detailing marks that a vandal, or vandals, scratched into the vehicles between roughly midnight and 7 a.m.
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The vandalism spanned four streets—167th Place, Grissom Drive, and 82nd and 80th avenues—surrounding Grissom Middle School, 17000 80th Ave., . At least two of the damaged vehicles were parked in the school's lots, according to the police reports. There are cameras perched on the school that face the street, police said.
"We're looking into the possibility of surveillance video, yes," Tinley Police Cmdr. Steve Vaccaro said. "We're also canvasing the neighborhood to look for possible leads … anything suspicious that people saw or heard during the night."
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The vast majority of filed reports simply described the damage and the time frame it occurred. The words "gay" and "b-----" showed up on several vehicles and one had circles and loops "all over" the hood. Six of the reports included damage to at least two vehicles that were parked in the same driveway.
One report included a 12:30 a.m. encounter a man had after parking his wife's Volkswagen Beetle in the driveway in the 16800 block of South 82nd Street.
"She said her husband drove the vehicle home … and that he noticed two teenage girls in front of either 8124 or 8130 169th Street playing with hula hoops," the report said. "(She) said the girls waved at her husband."
The Volkswagen was later vandalized on its hood, trunk and both sides with the words "a--hole," "gay," "fag," "gay box," and other phrases that were unreadable, according to the report.
If or when the perpetrators are identified, Vaccaro said they'll be charged with criminal damage to property—one count for each vehicle that was damaged that night.
The case remained under investigation Monday afternoon.
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