NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A local thrift store is recovering after they say someone vandalized it Sunday.
According to the Norfolk Police Department, officers responded to the Hope House Thrift Shop at 1800 Monticello Ave. for a report of vandalism. Once on the scene, officers found a broken window.
“I think that maybe they were going to break the window and then come in, but maybe a passerby scared them off,” said Frances Ross, operational coordinator at the Hope House Foundation Thrift Shop.
Ross said she found out what happened when an officer rang the Ring doorbell camera that afternoon. The store was closed at the time.
“They’re, like, eight-foot windows, so that’s a lot of glass to clean up,” Ross said. “But thankfully, nobody was hurt, but there is no video footage of who actually did it.”
She said that they had some volunteers help put up wood to secure the building, and they’ve ordered the glass to replace the window.
“It’s always a little bit disheartening when people do things that take away from the mission, whether it be vandalism like this or stealing something you know, or just you know, anything that hurts, what the cause is for,” Ross said.
According to Ross, this isn’t the first time they’ve gone through this.
“The last time that it happened, though they actually did break into the window, it was about five years ago, but they weren’t caught by the police either,” Ross said.
The shop, operated by the Hope House Foundation, helps raise money for the nonprofit that serves adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
Ross explained the cost to repair the damage is something they’re still trying to figure out.
“One-hundred percent of the proceeds [from the shop] stays here in Hampton Roads, so some of that money that was raised is going to have to go to pay for those repairs,” Ross said.
If anyone has any information about the break-in, they’re asked to contact the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.