A group of business owners in San Francisco's Ingleside District on Wednesday launched a fund to help businesses on Ocean Avenue that have recently been the victims of repeated vandalism -- for no apparent reason.
According to the Ingleside Merchants Association, early Wednesday morning, masked person with a scooter used a slingshot to break the windows of three businesses along the 1900 block of Ocean Avenue.
For two of those businesses, a nail salon and a sewing shop, this marks the second time this week they've been hit by vandals. Suspects had already shattered their windows previously just on Monday.
The third business struck on Wednesday, a pizza shop, has had its windows broken seven times since it opened two years ago, association officials said.
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The merchants association has set up a fundraiser on GoFundMe to help the businesses recover costs from having to fix the damage. As of Thursday afternoon, the fund had amassed more than $1,100 of its $3,000 goal.
"These mom and pop shops are trying to recover from the economic fallout from the pandemic. "Let's help them out since they've been serving us," a statement on the GoFundMe site read.
Supervisor Myrna Melgar, whose district includes Ingleside, said on Twitter on Thursday, "This has to stop."
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Melgar added that the attacks appear to be "targeted" and said investigators with the San Francisco Police Department are reviewing surveillance video in hopes of identifying the suspect or suspects.
Police didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the investigation.
