12 Clayton Businesses Vandalized

 Twelve Clayton businesses sustained damage as part of a vandalism spree that appears to have happened late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, a police lieutenant said.

Based on the pattern of damage, it's possible that a person sitting in the passenger's seat of a vehicle hit the businesses using a slingshot, said Lt. Tom Stockmann of the .

But the number of perpetrators and the motive remain unclear.

Affected businesses included Gateway Gallery, Ivey-Selkirk Auctioneers, and an attorney's office, Lt. Tom Stockmann said. Businesses were hit on Forsyth and Brentwood boulevards and on Maryland Avenue, among other streets. Eleven of the businesses were hit only once; one was hit twice, Stockmann said.

"Forsyth seems to be the key," Stockmann said.

No city property or residences sustained damage.

Police have recovered one silver ball at least the size of a marble that appears to have caused some of the damage. Police found it lodged between window panes.

Clayton police first learned of the vandalism at 3:24 a.m. Wednesday. A person flagged down an officer in a patrol car to say that a window at Gateway Gallery had been broken, Stockmann said.

Further investigation revealed that it wasn't a burglary. Nothing appeared to have been disturbed, he said.

While police are not aware of anyone having witnessed the vandalism, they are trying to track down surveillance footage from businesses.

Vandalism incidents such as this one seem to happen once every four to eight years in Clayton, Stockmann said. Sometimes, youth are involved.

About 20 years ago, a person used a gun to shoot bullets into properties throughout St. Louis County, Stockmann said. One of those incidents happened in Clayton—but the suspect in that case isn't a person of interest in this week's string of vandalism, he said.

Vandalism at Gateway Gallery included a broken window and four damaged paintings, said Vic Mastis, a gallery co-owner. She got a call from Clayton police at 3:45 a.m. Wednesday.

"They said that somebody had crashed the window and that we needed to come up here," Mastis said. She estimated the damage of the artwork—all paintings created by her that had been placed behind the window—at between $500 and $600. She said it's unclear how much it will cost to fix the window.

At the time, police told her the vandals had hit two more businesses. She said that at the time, police told her they suspected a pellet gun caused the damage.

The art gallery remains open, and Mastis said she and others at the store are working to get glass picked up before a show opening at 6 p.m. Friday that will feature work by photographer Sandy Moriarty.

Nothing like this has happened in the 6.5 years the gallery has been open, Mastis said.

The window has been boarded up.

 "We can't see out very much, but it's something," she said.