Vandals Break Windows in Studio City

Vandals armed with pellet guns or slingshots left a trail of broken glass along much of Ventura Boulevard in Studio City after driving through the area and shooting out several large shop windows, Los Angeles police said Tuesday.

Police made no arrests and had no leads. About 25 large plate glass windows belonging to 15 to 20 businesses were shattered Monday night, police said.

The damage occurred along a stretch of about 20 blocks of the boulevard. Some windows of businesses on Cahuenga Boulevard near Ventura Boulevard were also broken. Several business operators spent Tuesday morning cleaning up glass and boarding up windows.

“You go outside and you can see broken glass up and down the street, on both sides of the street,” said Terry Luker, assistant manager of Auto Toys in the 11300 block of Ventura Boulevard.

Police began receiving reports of broken windows about 9 p.m. Monday, Lt. John McCrillis said.

“It looks like some people were driving down the boulevard and were shooting out the windows,” McCrillis said. “There is not much to go on. We are hoping that maybe someone saw them and can give us a description.”

McCrillis said the vandalism was similar to incidents that have occurred in recent years on Ventura Boulevard from Studio City to Woodland Hills.

Police did not estimate the cost of the damage. But Luker said it would take $500 to replace his showroom window.

Many of the business operators victimized by the vandalism were alerted by police Monday night and took measures to board up shattered windows. Others did not find the damage until they arrived Tuesday.

An employee at Golden State Health Centers in the 13300 block of Ventura Boulevard found the picture window next to her desk gone when she arrived for work.

“There were millions of pieces of glass all over the place,” she said.