WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — More than a dozen merchants in Hartford and Lebanon are assessing damage to their storefronts after vandals shot BBs into their windows Thursday evening.
“Several businesses have had their windows damaged by BB pellets this evening,” Hartford Police said in a Facebook post early Friday morning. “We want to assure the public that the individuals involved have been located.”
Lebanon Police Sgt. Adam Leland said several businesses along Route 12A, including Town Fair Tire, Lebanon Pet & Aquarium Center, the old Pier One store in the Staples plaza, and a toy store in Glen Road Plaza also reported damage.
“I know it’s under investigation by the previous shift that was working,” Leland said.
He said Hartford notified Lebanon police about the suspects and “it’s believed to be the same people.”
Leland had no information about the suspects, and a Hartford shift commander could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Peggy Allen, a partner in Junction Fiber Mill on Maple Street in White River Junction, said the BB pellet attack shattered the large storefront windows of her recently opened wool fiber mill in the former Kibby Equipment building opposite Hartford Town Hall, not far from the bridge to West Lebanon.
“I got a phone call from the police at 7:15 (p.m.) and they said, ‘Your window is shattered,’ … I went down there and there was a big hole in the window, and it was crumbling.”
Allen said she didn’t know if there had been a single pellet or multiple BBs fired at the window.
“I was looking for a brick. I don’t know how I’d ever be able to find a BB at that scene,” she said.
The building is owned by Mike Davidson, a major Upper Valley rental and commercial property developer, and Allen said the landlord quickly dispatched a worker who went to Home Depot and bought plywood to board up the front window.
No one was at the business at the time of the vandalism because they had taken the holiday season week off, said Allen, a Hartford resident.
Police informed her that “19 to 20 locations” had been hit and that they had arrested three suspects, ages 13, 14 and 18, Allen said.
The vandalism is not inconsequential, she added, because of what it will cost to replace the large storefront window and the expense of lost heat created by the shattering of the glass and the temporary plywood that provides inferior insulation.
“I don’t know what is going to happen to these kids, but I’d like to look them in the face and tell them what this has done to us,” Allen said.
Hartford Police said anyone who finds damage to their windows from the incident should call them at 802-295-9425.
For those affected in Lebanon, Leland said people should call Lebanon Police at 603-448-1212.
John Lippman can be reached at jlippman@vnews.com.
