Suspect who vandalized Charlestown community space still not identified one year later
There is a new plea for help finding the man who vandalized a community space in Charlestown last year, causing $100,000 in damage. The damage set back The Anchor Boston for months.
It was a last December when a suspect, who was captured on surveillance video, broke into the public gathering space.
Shut down for months
"All of our power, our electricity, our lighting, Wi-Fi, you name it, was ripped out, and it was just days before we were supposed to set up our holiday installation for 2024," said Shelby Elwell, VP of operations for the Anthem Group. "The result of that was everything was pretty much canceled, and we were shut down for months."
Anchor Boston was still able to collect toys for kids in need last Christmas, but the community space was not able to open until the spring. This year they are open and focused on the future, but they still want to find the man responsible for all the damage.
"I don't know if he's local, if he was someone from out of town, we actually, we truly have no idea," Elwell said. "I hope he's still out there and someone recognizes him eventually, because he definitely did a lot of damage, and it would be good to kind of put a face to whoever did this."
Boston police say it is still an active investigation.
"We don't want to stay looking backwards, we want to keep pushing forwards, and basically show that nothing can really stop us, and that we're going to come back no matter what," Elwell said. "Bigger and brighter with perhaps a few more lights."
The Anchor Boston tree lighting celebration is scheduled for December 11 at 6 p.m.