Vandals hit Werner Park for second time in three weeks

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It happened again. Vandals broke into cars on Werner Park, located off Monroe Avenue in Rochester. Police say more than a dozen cars were targeted, some for the second time in less than three weeks.

People who live in the neighborhood told News10NBC they’re frustrated with having to go through this yet again.

Douglas Moore said, “Like, for what reason? It just does not make sense like just to be a vandal. It’s insane.”

For many Werner Park residents, it’s like deja vu after another 20 cars had their windows busted in less than three weeks. Kurt Smith’s car wasn’t spared.

“Everybody is kind of asking the same question. What’s going on? What are the chances we can catch the people? Just, you know, pretty much want it to stop obviously and not have to worry about those things with everything else going on,” said Smith.

Smith says he didn’t hear anything during the night. He first noticed something was wrong around 6 a.m.

“So, everybody was kind of out looking at the damage, looking at the scene. Cleaning up the cars. Stuff like that,” said Smith.

Now he’s dealing with the insurance process.

“So that’s the other part of it, too. Not just the damage, but everything you got to go through. You know they’re booked seven days to get an appointment,” said Smith.

Bruno Buttarazzi’s brand-new car had both front windows broken, yet nothing was stolen.

“We don’t leave anything in the car,” said Buttarazzi. He continued, “The only thing was, the glove compartment was opened. The owner’s manual was on the seat, but they didn’t take it.”

Most of the people who were affected met with Rochester police Monday. Many say they want stiffer penalties for anyone involved.

“The police told us that basically they can’t really do anything about it. I don’t know if they’re minors. I have no idea who they are, but if nothing is going to be done about it what’s to stop them from keep on doing it?” said Buttarazzi.

Moore added, “This is a relatively quiet street so to have it, you know, happen twice in such a short period of time is, it’s overwhelming, it’s disturbing. It’s, you know, something has got to be done.”

The Rochester Police Department is asking people for any home security video that can help them identify these vandals.