Vandals smash windows, steal change in Halloween night mischief on the west end

Vandals apparently went on a smash-and-grab spree on Halloween night in the city's west end, leaving neighbours upset and potentially facing bills for the damage. 

Residents in the neighbourhood told CBC News as many as 16 cars were damaged in the 200 block of Campbell and McEwan Avenues. 

"I think it's terrible. There has been an increase in petty crime around here lately, but this is beyond," said resident Catheryn Ellis. "I mean, it's going to be expensive to fix and it's just, why do that in order to take $6?"

Ellis says that on her car, the rear passenger window was smashed and the front passenger window was damaged and will also need to be replaced. Some change was stolen and items riffled through. 

Ellis says she reported it to police, but said that she'll be paying for the damage out of pocket. 

Another nearby neighbour, Terry Jones, said a neighbour alerted her to damage on her pickup truck — and Owen Silverthorne on McEwan says he woke up suddenly around 5 a.m. to the sound of car alarms going off and didn't think much of it — until his roommate told him their cars had been damaged. 

"It came as quite a surprise and when I saw the damage I was pretty outraged, to be honest," he said. "It's not the first time that I've heard of cars being broken into on this street. I suspect it's probably the same people and I hope they get caught."

The neighbours say they've reported the break-ins to police, and police told them they're investigating. 

Windsor police did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.