Make wishtv.com your home page

Vandals strike 3 Meridian-Kessler homes

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Three families awoke to shattering glass Monday morning in the Meridian-Kessler neighborhood.

Police report one or more vandals threw large rocks through the windows of the historic Tudor homes.

“I was jolted out of bed at 2:30 this morning promptly by the sound of what appeared to be someone trying to break into the house,” said a homeowner at 56th Street and Pennsylvania Street.

He said he waited at the top of the stairs listening for other noises, thinking perhaps it was a break-in. After the initial crash, he told us he just heard silence.

“[Then I] came downstairs, turned on the lights and was presented with this in the middle of the living room floor,” he said, gesturing to a large limestone rock on his rug, “which then I was able to trace back to the broken window that it had been heaved through.”

The rock, taken from the front of his neighbor’s landscaped yard, shattered his exterior bay window, an interior leaded glass window and, for a moment, his sense of security.

“It’s distressing and makes one more fearful,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m distressed that people have no respect for other people’s property and just randomly destroy it, for a joke I guess.”

Ten minutes earlier and two blocks away at 55th Street and Washington Boulevard, two more families awoke to the same noise.

“The glass crashes, and you come running down the stairs, and you can’t quite figure out what’s going on,” said a female homeowner who was also greeted by a rock in her home. “It sounded like 10 windows broke.”

Just like on Pennsylvania Avenue, the damage in the homes on Washington Boulevard includes window panes and shattered glass in the front rooms.

“They just chucked a rock through the window, so the intention I don’t think was to do anything other than vandalism. And that to me is just really strange,” she said.

Some of the homeowners said they’ve lived in the area their whole lives. They agreed that while there’s always a risk, they never thought they’d be the victims.

“We enjoy living here, and you just don’t think this would happen,” said the woman on Washington Boulevard.

The homeowners told us they do see a few comforts in an otherwise jarring situation.

“We have shared misery,” said the woman. “At least I wasn’t just singled out.”

“I’m just thankful that it was not a break-in,” added the man, “and no one was injured.”

Never miss another Facebook post from WISH-TV

Crime Map
Use Search Bars Above To Search Crime Data