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Spray-painting vandals hit vehicles, church, stadium

Daily Inter Lake | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 1 month AGO
by Daily Inter Lake
| May 31, 2016 1:17 PM

Kalispell Police are investigating widespread vandalism on the southwest side of town Monday night or early Tuesday morning.

At least 21 cars were hit with gray spray paint. The spray-paint vandals also struck at Bethel Baptist Church, Elrod School and Legends Stadium. The vandalism at the stadium included language targeting the Flathead High School Resource Officer and Flathead High School administrators.

Two garages on the south side of town were painted with language directed at the Kalispell Police Department.

The preliminary damage estimate is $4,000.

Police said that the vandals seemed to indiscriminately target vehicles and garages that were between the school, church and stadium, where they left more targeted messages.

“There was paint that was sprayed on our church van, on the south entrance of our building, on our church sign,” Bethel Baptist Church Secretary Janis Hoffman said.

A window above the main entrance to the church also was broken.

The messages on the church property included “666,” “Hail Satan,” and other foul language that Hoffman said did not bear repeating.

“We’re just in the processes of reporting damage and fixing everything,” Hoffman said Tuesday.

School Resource Officer Cory Clarke said it was unknown whether or not the recent vandalism was related to a May 10 incident at Flathead High School where a senior prank went awry and more than $4,000 in damage was caused.

Clarke has forwarded his investigative report of that incident to prosecutors, who had not filed charges as of Tuesday morning. Clarke determined that 21 students showed up to put plastic cups full of water in the hallway, but the incident escalated as one or two individuals ripped water fountains from the wall, spread sawdust throughout the hallways and broke a large moose statue.

The 20 seniors involved in the incident received suspensions from school and were barred from graduation.

“I’m treating it as it a separate incident,” Clarke said of the most recent vandalism.

He is working with other officers investigating the damage off school property.

He said he was a little surprised that one of the messages at the stadium targeted him by name with an obscenity.

“I try to be calm and not be reactive,” Clarke said. “I don’t know that I’ve created very many enemies.”

Clarke hoped the people involved might have been caught on surveillance cameras at the stadium, although vandals that struck the same area last fall never were caught.

In that case, vandals spray-painted walls of a building at the stadium, but were not seen clearly on video.

This week, four walls of the building were painted, including the Legends Stadium Wall of Fame.

Clarke did not see anything to link last fall’s vandalism at the stadium and the most recent spree.

“Last time it was black paint,” Clarke said. “The other person drew pictures of body parts. This one is more verbiage, gray paint ... I’m fairly positive all of the ones from last night are related.”

Clarke said a couple of neighbors later reported seeing suspicious lights in their alleys, but did not call anything in to dispatch.

“Don’t be out and about being a vigilante, but keep an eye out for each other and call us,” Clarke said.

Kalispell Police Department Investigations Capt. Doug Overman said several officers investigated the incident and that there were no leads as of Tuesday morning while surveillance footage was under review.

Overman said that mass vandalism of this degree has been known to happen before in Kalispell, but it is rare.

The damage is far from the worst Kalispell has seen. In October 2013 four teenagers went on a shooting spree with a BB gun and shot out the windows of more than 100 vehicles across town.

He recommends that people keep an eye out in the summer, when bitter cold is not a hindrance to keep lazier would-be vandals at bay.

Anyone with insight into who might have done the vandalism is asked to call 758-7793.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.

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