NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Vandals broke into an amusement park in New Orleans and went on a “rampage of destruction” that caused $10,000 worth of damage, park officials in the city said Tuesday.
The vandalism spree on Sunday was the second break-in at the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park in the past week, New Orleans City Park spokesperson Amanda Frentz said in a statement.
Frentz said the perpetrators broke doors, windows and pieces of a 100-year-old carousel on Sunday.
An antique band organ and one carousel horse were damaged with what appears to be a screwdriver, and the tails of other carousel horses were ripped from the structures. The perpetrators also left behind graffiti of “racially charged and sexually profane messages,” and the names Alex and Justin A, the statement said.
The latest incident comes after those who broke into the carousel building last week used fire extinguishers to spray horses on the carousel building, The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate reported.
“We were in the process of cleaning that stuff up when this happened” Rob DeViney, the park’s chief operating officer, told the newspaper. “When we saw the physical damage and racial slurs it was a gut punch.”
“This hurts my heart,” said a statement by Bob Becker, the park’s CEO. “The Carousel and Storyland are such traditional iconic parts of the Park. The Carousel is over 100 years old. To have them survive Katrina only to then be disrespected in this way is a true travesty.”
Officials are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of those responsible.
