WICHITA, Kansas (KSNW) – A car in Wichita’s Riverside neighborhood was damaged by suspected fireworks early Friday morning, less than a day after fireworks sales began in Wichita.
Jessica Jones told KSN that she woke up around 2 or 3 a.m. to a “bang” and her teenage sons ran down the stairs to tell her her car was on fire.
“A few weeks ago, someone tried to break into the car and broke off the driver’s side door handle, so it wouldn’t lock anymore,” Jones said.
Now the damage is even greater after Jones claims mortar fireworks were set off inside.
“It’s missing seats. It needs a dashboard. It needs the windshield and the passenger window is blown out,” Jones said.
One of her sons needs the car to get to work.
“I mean, it’ll turn around, but it’s going to take a lot of work to get it back to a place where he can drive it,” Jones said. “Why would someone just decide in the middle of the night to blow up my car? I mean, I didn’t have it because I didn’t need it.”
One of her neighbors tells KSN what she saw.
“I woke up and thought there was an explosion, a power outage. Then we got up and looked outside. I guess our neighbors were trying to figure out what was wrong with their car. We looked outside and saw our neighbors trying to figure out what was wrong with their car,” said neighbor Valerie Cizek.
Jones said her neighbors would work together to find the person responsible.
She says this is not the first time cars in the neighborhood have been attacked.
“My neighbor’s house was broken into about two weeks ago. The side window was smashed, the dashboard was torn up and now this,” Jones said.
The Wichita Police Department has received four reports of vandalism in the Riverside area since May, but that number may not be accurate because the systems are still entering information after the cyberattack since they are now accessible again.
Tune in to KSN News at 10 for continuing coverage with Jackie Elson.
