VANCOUVER, Wash. — The Vancouver Police Department is trying to find the people who vandalized several Halloween displays in Clark County.
They stabbed inflatables, damaged skeletons and kicked in phony headstones — and it was caught on homeowners' surveillance videos.
Sophie Dudash, a resident in Orchards, couldn't believe what she saw on her home's video surveillance, and was surprised it took the two young men or teens such a short time to undo all of her hard work.
She had just blown up her large cat inflatable two hours before the vandals slashed its legs.
"There are a lot of neighborhood kids who come by everyday to see the cat and see everything," Dudash said. "So it's heartbreaking."
Another family in Vancouver said they lost about $1,800 after vandals thrashed their inflatable arch, lawn decoration and gigantic skeleton.
"They came through with some knife, switch blade or box knife, something, and just sliced in all different directions, where it wasn't repairable," said Denise Karr.
Neighbors began comparing stories on Facebook and Nextdoor, and it led them to TikTok videos of a group of young men flaunting Halloween vandalism set to music.
The victims believe the young men in the videos are connected to their losses.
Karr contacted Vancouver police and provided video.
She said one person contacted her through Nextdoor and claimed he and his friends did not vandalize her house, but he admitted to sabotaging Halloween decorations at other locations.
"No one did anything to these kids [the vandals]. They took it upon themselves to come out and destroy everyone's decorations, decorations for the little kids," Karr said.
Some of the victims said they worry about Christmas decorations and whether the vandals will come back to do more destruction.
Karr said police are looking into a dark SUV spotted in the video, which could be an Audi with front-end damage. She said the vandals in the TikTok videos vowed to come back for more.