26 parked vehicles damaged in downtown Guelph, suspect caught on security camera
Vehicles were parked near Cork and Yarmouth streets early Tuesday morning
More than two dozen vehicles parked in the downtown area of Guelph were damaged in the early morning on Tuesday, police say.
In a news release on Wednesday, police said they started receiving reports of vehicles with damaged side windows around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.
"There were only a couple [reports] that came in early morning, so we didn't realize the scope of it," said police spokesperson Scott Tracey.
"But as people started waking up [Tuesday] morning and going down to their cars to get about their day, they discovered their vehicles were damaged," he said.
A total of 26 owners reported damage to their vehicle. The damage ranged from spider web cracks to some windows being completely blown out, Tracey said.
The weapon used was a "blunt instrument," Tracey explained, adding surveillance video showed the man carrying a large, red flashlight which police said most likely was used to damage the windows.
Drops of blood were found on the ground and on the vehicles, which has led police to believe the suspect injured himself while causing the damage.
Tracey said nothing appeared to be stolen from the vehicles and is describing this as "malicious damage for a purpose that's only known to the suspect."
All of the vehicles were parked in the area of Cork and Yarmouth streets.
Tracey said if people are heading downtown and want to park, they shouldn't be too worried about damage to their cars.
"It's not something that typically we see during the day when people are out and about," he said.
However, Tracey is urging anyone who does park downtown overnight to park in a well-lit area and report any suspicious activity.
Police are looking for a male suspect wearing a black jacket with the hood up, black pants and dark coloured shoes with a light coloured pattern on them.
Anyone with information is being asked to call police or Crime Stoppers.