Vandals hit Speedway Main Street businesses
SPEEDWAY, Ind (WISH) — Speedway police are investigating a rash of vandalism reports.
The suspects targeted businesses along Main Street. They didn’t damage the storefronts, just the backs of the buildings. It happened Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
There were five incidents. Police believe they are connected. The vandals spray-painted phrases, words and pictures onto buildings, but police don’t believe there is a gang tie.
Running businesses is tough. At Barbecue and Bourbon on Main, 1414 Main St., it’s no different. They’d rather feed their customers than clean up after vandals. On Thursday, they did just that.
“It was right there and right there. It was all around me. I don’t know how we got lucky and it wasn’t. I’m grateful for that. But it could absolutely be our building,” said the restaurant owner Marcia Huff.
The scribbles seemed to be random: “Mr. G” over a building that’s for rent and the word “Flex” scribbled on a couple of businesses.
“Well, they’re not good. The artists are not good. They shouldn’t be proud,” Huff said and laughed.
The spelling was also a little off. “Eye lov you” was spray-painted below “JAK Flex” on the back of Frank Van Overmeiren’s building. He owns Fire Protection and Coding Consultants, a fire protection consulting engineering firm. Nobody really knows if the spelling errors are intentional or what the meaning of the messages.
“I have no clue. There’s a whole science on to the tagging of buildings and those kinds of things,” he said.
All of the vandalized businesses are within a block of each other:
- American Family Insurance at 1506 Main St.
- Fire Protection and Coding Consultants at 1520 Main St.
- O’Reilly’s Irish Bar at 1552 Main St.
- Speedway Trophy Center and Clock Repair at 4909 W. 14th St.
- A business for rent just south of Speedway Trophy Center and Clock Repair.
The Tuesday and Wednesday incidents were the second rash of vandalism in Speedway in less than one week. Suspects targeted two concession stands. In the earlier vandalism, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department arrested a juvenile and an 18-year old in connection to those incidents. Police do not believe those were connected to this more recent rash, however.
People in Speedway are hoping that somebody will be caught and that the suspects will be held responsible.
“I think they should have to pay for it. I think they should pay for repairs. I think they should be out there cleaning it up,” Huff said.
Van Overmeiren added, “You think you have a wonderful little island in the sea of Indianapolis and then you have this kind of deterioration, which is simple vandalism by, probably, a young teenager.”
Police believe the suspects are juveniles. They don’t have a description. They are asking residents and businesses to come forward if they have video from Tuesday night or Wednesday morning of the Main Street area. Call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477 with any information.
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