Woman with hammer vandalizes 16 downtown Tacoma businesses

Woman with hammer vandalizes 16 businesses in downtown Tacoma

A woman is behind bars, accused of vandalizing 16 business storefronts on Broadway, destroying 56 windows early Saturday morning

TACOMA, Wash. - A woman is behind bars, accused of vandalizing 16 business storefronts in Tacoma, destroying 56 windows early Saturday morning.

According to Tacoma Police, at 3:05 a.m. officers responded to a complaint of a vandalism in progress.

The officers were able to locate the adult female suspect, and though she initially resisted arrest, she was safely taken into custody by the officers.

Businesses impacted by the destruction spent the early morning hours boarding up their storefronts.

"I had three windows broken, including my front door," said Crystal Nguyen, owner of Peppermint Tuna, a clothing store. "It’s pretty sad. Everybody’s not feeling so great and we’re all small independent business owners. This really sets us back."

Repairs are not expected to be cheap, as many of the storefronts are located in historic buildings with large window panes.

"Let’s just say they’re not inexpensive," joked Rebecca Fintak, co-owner of Cremello Café.

The coffee shop had seven windows broken. Fintak and her partner, Anh Lee, said because of the damage, they made the decision to close for the day.

"This is a business where we welcome a lot of families," said Fintak. "We have children that are playing around. We just want to ensure everyone’s safety by cleaning the space thoroughly and hopefully will be up and running tomorrow again."

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Over at Sanford and Sons Antiques, owner Alan Gorsuch told FOX 13 he’s planning on replacing the windows himself.

"Luckily, my windows didn’t completely shatter," he said.

FOX 13 has learned a team member from the Tacoma Downtown Partnership came down in the early morning hours to help with cleanup."

"They’ve been really great," said one storeowner. "But the person who did this, really needs help. They’re a danger to themselves and other people."

According to people familiar with the suspect, she lives in an apartment on Broadway.

"There have been issues in the past," said one store owner who asked not to be named.

"We put a lot of time and effort into our businesses," said Alex Verchereau, owner of Big Dawg Barbershop. "It just becomes very sad when people in our community vandalize and destruct everything that we’ve worked for."

Several of the shops impacted have set up GoFundMe accounts to help with repairs.

"The best way people can help is to come down and shop at our stores," said Crystal Nguyen. "We need your support, especially in times like this. We love Tacoma and we want to stay here."