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Police investigate broken windows at Democratic Party office, nearby store

broken glass in front of campaign posters
George Hale
/
WFIU/WTIU News
A cracked window at the Monroe County Democratic Party headquarters in Bloomington.

Bloomington police are investigating a possible act of vandalism at the Monroe County Democratic Party headquarters on East Second Street.

Deputy Police Chief Ryan Pedigo said Sunday that his department received a report of damage to glass on a large front-facing window.

“It is currently unknown what caused the damage or specifically when it occurred. A detective has been assigned to follow-up on the investigation and it remains active,” Pedigo wrote in an emailed statement.

Pedigo added that nothing was found nearby that is believed to have caused the damage, and people inside the building did not hear anything unusual. He said the person who reported the incident believed it happened Thursday.

Police are also investigating damage to a grocery store across the street, he said.

World Foods Market shared photos of broken windows in a Facebook post thanking the community for its support after the incident.

“We would like to thank our wonderful community for showing up with kind words and support following our recent encounter with vandalism. We've given ourselves a couple of days to clean up and let things develop before making a public statement, and we're happy to say we're doing fine and growing right through this,” the post said.

State Senator Shelli Yoder said she was troubled by the vandalism reports.

“I'm troubled by the reports of vandalism in Bloomington and grateful that no one was injured,” Yoder, whose district includes Bloomington, wrote on Facebook.

“We don't yet know what led to this incident, and it's important to allow the investigation to establish the facts,” Yoder wrote.

She added that “everyone deserves to feel safe in the places where they gather, serve their neighbors and participate in their community.”

George Hale is a Multi-Media Journalist at Indiana Public Media. He previously worked as an Investigative Reporter for NPR’s northeast Texas member station KETR. Hale has reported from the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, Jordan and Egypt.

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