A man is under arrest after smashing windows at a mosque, a church and several businesses on Main Street and Cottage Street in Manchester early Thursday morning, according to police.
Officers responded to the area around 12:25 a.m. after getting a call about a possible burglary in progress. The caller told dispatchers they could hear the sound of glass breaking.
When officers arrived, they found the 37-year-old suspect actively smashing windows on Main Street using two metal rebar rods, police said.
Police said there was damage to Bayte-ul Mamur Mosque, the office at Full Gospel Interdenominational Church, Mulberry Street Pizza, Watkins Centre, Key Bank, Anne Miller Real Estate, Work_Space and the Grateful Head Shop.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
Officers ordered the suspect to drop the rods and get on the ground, but he refused, they said. Officers deployed a stun gun to no effect. The suspect then struck the passenger-side window of a police cruiser with one of the metal rods before officers tackled him and took him into custody, according to police.
"He hit every one of them. They're double paned but they're all cracked," building owner Claire Miller-Burti said.
Miller-Burti owns Cheney Mortgage, which captured the moment the window was broken. She said the window breaking spree appears to be random.
Local
"That's all I can make of it. I can't understand where there would be something that was intentional," Miller-Burti said.
At Bayt-ul Mamur Mosque, worshippers were inside observing Ramadan when the Iman there heard a strange noise.
"He heard somebody knocked the door and then a big noise. Looked like somebody breaking glass, so he shouted," Muhammah Rachman said.
No one was injured.
The suspect is charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, second-degree threatening, first-degree criminal mischief, second-degree criminal mischief, second-degree breach of peace, and interfering. He was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
In all, eight properties were damaged, police said.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
