SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Surveillance video captured teenagers trashing holiday inflatables along Venice Street early Sunday morning, with several other homeowners reporting similar incidents in the area.
Glenn Millar discovered his Christmas display had been vandalized around 2 a.m. Sunday, after noises woke up his houseguest. The surveillance footage shows a teen knocking down an inflatable hula Santa and slamming it on the ground before a group flees on e-bikes.
"You can see the stakes are completely ripped one out," Millar said, surveying the damage to his yard.
The vandals also made off with a polar bear decoration, which was later found ditched down the street.
"This polar bear was really staked down. It took effort to get it out, and they did," Millar said.
The teens severed every tie and stake anchoring the inflatables. Most of the lights were damaged in the process.
Strong winds caused the untethered inflatables to blow down the street after the vandals cut their anchors. Millar was able to collect and reinstall most of the decorations.
"That bothers me a lot. This was not, ‘Let’s go by and slap it.’ It was methodically, let's destroy people's stuff," Millar said.
Millar's display wasn't the only target that morning. After posting about the vandalism on the Nextdoor app, several neighbors reported their displays were hit by vandals around the same time. A few blocks away, another inflatable snowman was ripped out of the ground.
"It's for the enjoyment for everybody. A few kids they decide to destroy that enjoyment. It’s frustrating. I’m not going to lie," Millar said.
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