Vandalism hits several Cape Girardeau businesses overnight

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) — Several downtown Cape Girardeau businesses were damaged overnight in a string of vandalism incidents that have left owners frustrated and hoping for answers.

“As far as I know, after midnight, somebody was walking down this alley, picked up a brick and threw it at our back glass door,” said Charles McGinty, co-owner of McGinty Jewelers. “Fortunately, the film held it together and it didn’t go all the way through. They also hit our loading dock door, and a few of the other businesses downtown have reported similar damage.”

While the physical damage was minimal, McGinty reminds everyone that downtown remains a safe place to visit. “Downtown’s very safe to come by and shop and spend time eating and visiting, seeing the river and those things,” he said. “This happened very late at night. So I think it’s just one of those nighttime vandalism things.”

McGinty said his business will continue operating as usual. “We’ll have to replace the back door and do some little minor cosmetic fixes. Nothing that’s going to slow us down. It’s just a pain.”

Other businesses impacted include Annie Laurie’s, D Duncan Floristry, and Baskin Robbins. Workers at Baskin Robbins expressed concern, saying they hope “somebody does something about the situation,” noting that multiple properties have now been vandalized. D Duncan Floristry also provided surveillance video of the incident.

Cape Girardeau Police are asking any affected businesses to file official reports. “There are some individuals or businesses that may contact us about property damage just to notify us, but they don’t want to officially report it,” said Bobby Newton, public information officer for Cape Girardeau PD. “Anytime we have a victim and they report the crime, we’d like an official report. We investigate all those.”

Newton added that even when victims don’t report directly, police can still use video posted online. “We always use as many tools in our tool belt as we can,” he said. “Sometimes we can use (social media posts) to help tie in some other crimes that may be occurring around the city.”

Authorities encourage anyone with information or surveillance footage to contact Cape Girardeau Police.