RAYTOWN, Mo. — A wave of vandalism early Tuesday morning in Raytown left around half a dozen businesses and a local church with multiple slashed tires and hundreds of dollars in damages.
First Assembly Raytown Church Pastor Mark Halford said he first noticed the crime later that morning after being notified by his secretary.
“I went out there and all the van’s tires had been punctured,” he said. “No reason and no purpose that we can determine outside of just pure evil.”
Surveillance video at the church caught the suspect walking onto the property and damaging the van, which the church uses to transport children to events.
Halford said the vandalism will end up costing the small church hundreds of dollars, which may need to come from areas set aside for other purposes.
“Due to the punctures in the side wall, the tires cannot be repaired,” he said. “It’s disappointing. We run a tight budget here.”
First Assembly Raytown Church was one of around half-dozen places that reported overnight tire slashings.
Less than a half-miles away at NAPA Auto Parts, staff noticed tires punctured on four company cars.
“It was pretty irritating,” employee Justin Haddock said. “It held up business, and we had to get all our spare tires on there and get them worked on.”
Other nearby businesses, including Enterprise Rent-A-Car and AutoZone off Missouri 350, also had tires slashed.
Halford hopes the surveillance video means justice will come soon.
“If he wants help, we’ll be the first to offer it,” he said. “At the same time, we don’t condone this behavior, and we’re not going to tolerate it.”
Raytown police described the suspect as a black male in his mid-20s with a thin to average build. He was wearing a gray T-shirt and blue jeans.
On Thursday, police said a man was taken into custody but has not yet been charged.
Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call the Greater KC Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
