For the second time in as many months, police are seeking public assistance in identifying and locating the person(s) responsible for a vandalism spree that occurred between Upper Gwynedd and Towamencin townships — all with a pandemic theme to the tagging.
Police said the vandalism occurred during the overnight hours between Monday, Aug. 23 and Tuesday, Aug. 24, and spanned businesses and schools from South Broad Street in Upper Gwynedd to South Valley Forge Road in Towamencin Township. Locations affected by the vandalism include Gwynedd Square Elementary, Chatham Village Condominiums, Rite Aid and North Penn High School, among others.
“At this time, the tags are unfamiliar to this department, and we do not have any suspects,” said Sgt. Stephen Gillen, of the Upper Gwynedd Police Department, in reference to their investigation. “Thus far, we have no indication that these taggings are related to the ones about a month ago, however we are aware of the similarities in locations and objects tagged and will certainly look into that possibility.”
Images of the vandalism that were secured by North Penn Now show a recurring COVID-19 theme to many of the tags, including:
Additional instances of “No Vax,” “Dievest” and “No Vax No Chill” taggings were reported across the affected area.
Upper Gwynedd Police said they are actively seeking surveillance footage — be it business or residential — from anywhere in the affected areas during the aforementioned overnight period. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Upper Gwynedd Township Police Detective Division at 215-699-5891. Callers can remain anonymous, and additional tips can be sent through the department’s WatchGuard page at www.uppergwyneddpolice.org.
Likewise, Towamencin Township Police Chief Tim Troxel confirmed that his department is also investigating the vandalism, and investigators are currently waiting for surveillance video to be turned over for review. Anyone with information is asked to contact Towamencin Township Police at 215-368-7606.
“Oftentimes in these cases, its tips from the community that help us solve the crime,” said Troxel. “We really rely upon their help to quickly catch the offender(s), which is important so that we can hold them accountable and send the message that our community doesn’t tolerate this type of behavior.”
Community Tips Lead to ID of July Vandalism Suspect in Upper Gwynedd
It’s that type of community involvement and support that helped identify a vandalism suspect in Upper Gwynedd last month, who carved a near-identical route of taggings to the current vandalism suspect.
Police issued the call for public assistance on July 21, seeking the identity of the person responsible for a series graffiti and vandalism incidents. Police said the tagging was initially reported on July 15, with graffiti found in the areas of Supplee Road and Sumneytown Pike all the way through Sumneytown Pike and Valley Forge Road.
One week later, police announced that they had received “a number of tips” pointing to a specific Instagram account featuring many of the “tags” featured in their investigative photos, as well as several others that had not been reported. Police said they were able to identify the suspect as a juvenile, and filed charges accordingly.
“Successful law enforcement is a cooperative effort between the police and our community,” said Upper Gwynedd Police, in a statement posted to Facebook. “We work hard to foster a strong community partnership and truly appreciate your support and assistance.”
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