SHAWNEE, Kan. — Vandalism at a Shawnee playground has authorities on the lookout.
Someone spray painted the playground and the sidewalk at a Shawnee park. The equipment has since been cleaned, but the sidewalk still has the graffiti. Some people might recognize the popular term, “YOLO,” meaning “you only live once,” coined by rapper Drake, which is spray painted on the ground. But the rest the graffiti, which reads “swag 2k13,” police say might as well be hieroglyphics to them.
“It’s very much sort of the center of the community, so it’s a little disturbing to see that people would have that little respect for what’s kind of a hallmark in the community,” said Clay Moore, who lives across the street from Gamblin Park in Shawnee.
Police were called to the city park yesterday, after receiving a tip about graffiti on the playground and sidewalk.
“An officer responded and found that someone had used a can of spray paint to paint some indecipherable words to m, and we don’t know what they meant or what they said exactly,” said Major Bill Hisle, with the Shawnee Police Department.
Hisle says they aren’t sure when the vandalism occurred.
“One of the park workers found it. It may have been a while since this has been here, because in the winter time, the park doesn’t get a lot of use right now,” Hisle says.
While police currently have no suspects, Hisle says they assume it was a juvenile. He also says the parents are generally responsible for taking care of the problems their kids cause.
“We would appreciate any help from the public in helping us to identify who did this,” he added.
Moore has lived in the neighborhood for four years. He says the path behind the homes leading up to the playground and the park itself are perks to living in the area.
“The city has put a lot of resources into that, it’s one of the things that makes Shawnee sort of unique,” said Moore.
He says it’s a shame someone would destroy property and he’s certain police will find the culprit.
“It’s kind of a tight knit community for the size, so once kids find out who did it, and if they know the authorities are involved, I’m going to guess somebody will tip somebody off and we find out who did it,” said Moore.
Police are still looking for a suspect. If you have any information about who may have done this, please notify Shawnee Police Department at (913) 631-2155 as soon as possible.
