City officials believe at least 38 Edmonton bus shelters were vandalized overnight Tuesday.
As of 1:50 a.m. Wednesday, 38 shelters in the Twin Brooks, Rutherford and Callaghan areas were smashed.
The city first started receiving calls at around 1:15 a.m. when an off-duty peace officer called about a damaged bus shelter. Then, bus drivers started reporting more shelters that had been smashed.
There doesn’t seem to be a pattern, city spokesperson Rowan Anderson said.
It appears the damage may be limited to the glass panes and not the metal frames or foundations. Still, replacing a section of glass can cost the city about $500.
With all the shelters hit, the city estimates the total damage could be around $20,000.
“It’s a completely senseless act,” Anderson said. “There’s no real rationale for it.”
Damaged shelters have been taped off and crews are cleaning up. Anderson said it could be early next week that the bus shelter window panes are replaced.
Global News noticed a series of damaged shelters all along the length of MacEwan Road on Wednesday morning.
Edmonton police said they hadn’t received any reports of vandalism to bus shelters overnight.