PLYMOUTH, Conn. —
In Terryville and the surrounding areas of Plymouth and Bristol, vandals have been looking to destroy any Christmas inflatables they can find.
People in the affected areas spoke out about what they could only describe as an act of cruelty.
"People…they like to ruin things,” said Kristopher Salls, volunteer at Page Park.
Salls, who’s lived in Bristol all his life, has a passion for decorating during Christmas.
"It started when I was about five years old, just a small little thing, and then over the years it’s just slowly grown into what it is now," Salls said.
But not everyone has appreciated his displays.
"We had about fifteen inflatables get vandalized, five were stolen. I had a 20-foot Uncle Sam that was slashed,” Salls said.
Salls has had so much experience with destroyed decorations that he has offered to help people patch their inflatables up in the neighboring town of Terryville, where the culprit is known as the "Terryville Slasher."
"I know how rotten it is,” Salls said. “I hope that there is some stricter punishment with law enforcement in the future to stop whoever is doing it.”
When Amber Page Gehr heard what was going on, she couldn’t imagine how she would feel if someone destroyed her inflatable beaver that she drove all the way to Massachusetts to get.
"There would be an army of upset people,” Gehr said. “Trying to hurt people by doing something like that is just wrong.”
Even through the slashers remain at large, they aren’t stopping the Christmas spirit.
"I would have stopped probably years ago if others weren’t enjoying it,” Salls said. “Even during other months when the holidays aren’t here, I had people asking me what’s new for this year? Are you going to do it again?”
Anyone who is a vandalism victim should reach out to police.
Jamel Johnson is a Multi-Skilled Journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jjohnson@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook and Instagram.
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