DETROIT – Dream Cruise weekend got off to a bad start Friday morning when a vandal broke storefront windows for blocks on McNichols Road.
The Pasta Bowl restaurant is a gourmet Italian establishment that's been on McNichols for three years. It was closed Friday because of the vandal, and business owners said crime is making it hard for them to stay.
Surveillance cameras show a man in tan pants, white sneakers and a gray hooded sweatshirt lumbering down the middle of McNichols Road at 4:19 a.m. Friday.
Video shows the man walking up to the front door of the Pasta Bowl and blasting away with a piece of steel rebar, causing hundreds of dollars in damages.
"It's discouraging and frustrating," owner Musheya Glenn said.
The vandal hit the window repeatedly, sending pieces of glass flying across the walk-in customer area.
"I don't understand," Glenn said. "There's a police precinct right down the street, and how was there not any patrol cars out at that time of the morning?"
Officials said thousands of dollars' worth of damage was caused at 20 storefronts, including the Imperial Cuts barbershop, Island Spice restaurant and Salon Cliche.
"I'm really concerned and I'm really upset," business owner Tisha Johnson said. "I'm just trying really hard to make a living. They're making it hard for me to stay. They really are."
Detroit police officers caught the man with the rebar in the act. He was taken into custody.
Police said the 8th Precinct is a large area to cover and officers were likely on other priority calls in other parts of town.
The majority of business owners in the area said they don't plan to move, but better police patrols would give them more reason to stay.