Vandal caught on camera cutting down and damaging security cameras in West Lawn

CHICAGO (CBS) -- People in the West Lawn community are livid after someone went through their alley and cut down or damaged home security cameras.

Nevertheless, those crimes were caught on camera themselves.

As CBS 2's Tim McNicholas reported Monday, security video sent to us shows someone yank down a camera around 8 a.m. Friday. Another clipsshows two more cameras damaged nearby.

"They're causing a lot of property damage," said a local man who asked to stay anonymous for fear of retaliation.

He said his camera was damaged, and he later heard from several others in West Lawn that were also hit.

"I'm thinking about eight, eight different houses - because it was eight different videos that I was able to see," the man said.

One image appears to show the vandal holding some kind of knife to cut the chords.

"He looked like, I'd say, between 13 to 18, honestly. He looked very young," the man said, "and for him to be caught up doing something like this just ain't right."

The man worries the cameras may have been cut because local criminals don't want to be caught in a more serious crime.

"I think if this was gang-related, he was told by somebody else to do this so they can coordinate something else," the man said.

We have learned that about 18 hours after some of those cameras were cut, police responded to a call of shots fired right in that same area. Some of the neighbors are wondering whether that may have been related.

Police say they did not find any damage or any gunshot victims, but they did find two shell casings.