MESA, Ariz. — There are growing concerns in one East Valley neighborhood near Guadalupe and Signal Butte roads where residents reported multiple cases of vandalism, including racial slurs sprayed all over vehicles.
Neighbors like Lionel Galprine and Jimmy Davenport say they're sad to see so many cars vandalized. They can't quite understand why people would be so hateful and inconsiderate.
"I don't know the circumstances, but really the straw that broke the camel's back was when someone spray-painted the n-word on someone's car," Davenport said.
"To see this is horrifying and it's something that needs to stop now," Galprine added.
They say they've seen a rash of racial slurs and spray-painted cars in the neighborhood.
"None of this is acceptable, but that elevates it to a new level, that's a hate crime and we're just not going to tolerate it," Davenport said.
Multiple cars of every make and model were marked with paint or simply damaged.
"We figured it was just kids horsing around, too much time on their hand It started with bologna. They were putting bologna on cars, which can damage a car's finish," he said.
Mesa police tell 12 News they logged nine incidents in the area recently and are working with residents to find who's responsible for ruining what's normally a kind and quiet neighborhood.
"Which is a lot of families and retirees, and I just didn't think anything like this should be tolerated," Galprine said.
"If we see a car that's not supposed to be here, we're going to calling Mesa PD. We're not looking to do vigilantee stuff, nothing like that, it's just a matter of protecting our investment, keeping our families safe, keeping our neighborhood safe, that's all we want to do," Davenport said.
Call Mesa police at 480-644-2211 if you know anything about the recent vandalism cases.
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