THUNDER BAY - Malachi Madigan was installing a new back door when his girlfriend heard what sounded like an airsoft gun going off.
“My buddy was like that didn’t sound right,” he said, adding they went out to the front of the house only to witness the back end of a vehicle taking off down the street.
The group looked around and didn’t see anything that alarmed them, so they continued finishing installing the door.
It wasn't until when his friend went to leave that he noticed his truck had been damaged.
“He was like ‘They shot my window out’,” Madigan said. “The driver’s side window got shot and they hit his windshield three times.”
Madigan’s vehicle was also damaged.
On Monday night, April 13, Thunder Bay Police received several reports of windows being broken by a pellet gun or similar projectile.
In one case, officers were dispatched to the 100-block of Mountdale Avenue where they located a parked sedan with a broken driver’s side window.
“They shot my door two times and they shot a car about six houses down (from) me,” Madigan said, adding he lives in the Mckenzie Street area in the city’s east end.
One thing he noticed, however, is nothing appeared to be taken from the vehicles.
When they called police, they were notified they weren’t the only people who had their vehicle windows shot out that same night.
Witnesses told police a beige or light brown SUV with two or more people inside was seen driving away from a vandalized vehicle. The vehicle was described as a light brown or beige Hyundai Santa Fe.
Police were also dispatched to the 100-block of Limbrick Street where the front window of a house appeared to have been shot by a pellet gun.
Madigan has lived in the city’s east end for approximately five years.
“I’ve never had someone shooting at (my vehicle) with a pellet gun or airsoft gun but I had someone a couple of years ago use a hammer and a screwdriver trying to open my car door,” he said.
He’s currently waiting to hear back from a local auto shop to find out how much his damages are going to be.
Despite the costly repairs, Madigan says he isn’t as upset as some may be.
“The damage is done but there is no point in getting angry like it is what it is,” he said. “It just sucks.”
Police say multiple similar reports have been reported through the police service’s online reporting tool in connection to Monday night's window-smashing spree.
Anyone with information that could assist investigators is asked to contact police at 807-684-1200.
