Last week, a Michigan man’s under-construction business was repeatedly vandalized by a group of teenagers, who caused an estimated $200,000 in damages, WZZM reported. He called the attack on his business “very malicious and violent.”
Ryan Long stated that he had been saving money and working for seven years to open a brewing company in Globes. However, following repeated acts of vandalism, Long said he is no longer confident that he will be successful in getting the place up and running.
On January 19, the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department informed Long that three 13-year-olds broke into his business three days in a row and caused significant damage. Long reported that every window on the property was broken, including the windows on two vehicles. The teens used rocks, golf clubs, and fence posts to shatter the glass. According to Long, the vandals also took surveillance cameras, ripped out engine parts from a construction vehicle, and put sand in the gas tank and oil compartment.
The business owner told Fox News Digital, “They broke every window, every overhead door, over 100 windows that were destroyed, ransacked the building. They destroyed a sky track that was in the building. They removed the oil cap, the hydraulic lines, they filled everything full of sand. They destroyed a 15-passenger van that we had there … to move things around and get things done. And completely, you know, put a huge setback on the building and the project to move forward.”
Long explained that the business was uninsured due to two previous break-ins and thefts.
“I’ve exhausted everything in this,” Long stated. “This is my savings, my retirement, you know, we planned on moving forward this summer and in getting things at least a soft opening available for the weekend. But at this point, it’s, you know, it’s not even recoverable.”
Long noted that he does not know the teens, their parents, or the motive behind the vandalism. However, the three teens were known to law enforcement, Long stated. He said he doubts the underaged vandals or their parents will be forced to pay the consequences.
“It’s hard to get $200,000 out of three 13-year-olds,” Long said. “They’ll probably get a slap on the hand and have zero accountability or any recourse or any type of restitution like that.”
A GoFundMe was launched by Long’s friend to help the business owner recover some of the damages. Local business owners also stated that they plan to host fundraisers to help cover repair costs.
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