COFFEYVILLE, Kan.-- Police are investigating after vandals struck more than two dozen homes and vehicles in Coffeyville, Kansas this weekend.
Neighbors awoke Sunday to find graffiti covering houses and cars. Police reported vandalism on several streets, and now they are working to narrow down the suspects.
Coffeyville police tracked vandals as they drew a path across the city. Victims cleaned up most of the blue paint they found sprayed onto their property.
"If somebody wants to paint, maybe we can start an art class or something and teach them how to really do it instead of being vandals like this," said Rev. James Dean McNamara, the police chaplain and pastor at the First Baptist Church. "This is really not good."
The graffiti on McNamara's house included the same lettering found on other homes nearby.
"We can forgive them, but they need to try to make amends for what they've done," said McNamara.
One man's truck had the letters "BKA" sprayed onto it as well as a smiley face. Another man found the very same letters on the side of his house along with a swastika. Police say they took reports from at least 30 people with similar damage to their belongings.
Officers are trying to figure out if the same perpetrators left graffiti on several homes and vehicles in the area on January 8.
McNamara believes the police will catch the perpetrators. When they do, he already has an idea for their punishment.
"I think one of the restitutions should be, they should make the people that were responsible and make them clean this up and redo it properly," said McNamara.
Police are asking other victims to come forward and report any other damage. Contact Officer Sewell or Officer Gilfillan at the Coffeyville Police Department at 620-252-6160.
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