Reno LGBTQ center's door, windows smashed: 'We're picking up the pieces'

Reno's LGBTQ community center was vandalized Tuesday night, Our Center's President Jeromy Manke said.

At around 7 p.m. Tuesday, Manke said about 10 volunteers were inside the Wells Avenue building when they heard someone start shouting.

"There was a guy in a ski mask that yelled, 'Get down! Get down!' and then he started throwing rocks," Manke said recounting statements from the center's volunteers.

The suspect shattered three front windows and the front door before running away, he said, noting that volunteers immediately contacted police. Reno Officer Tim Broadway confirmed authorities responded to the center on the report of destruction of property.

"We will definitely be investigating the case and asking for the community's help in identifying the suspect," Broadway said. "Depending on what we find out during the investigation, the person's criminal history and the circumstances, we will best figure out how to file charges."

According to Broadway, witnesses described the suspect as a male, 6 feet to 6 feet 4 inches tall and between 160 and 180 pounds. He was last seen wearing dark colored pants, a red sweater under a black jacket and a "light colored possibly white ski mask," Broadway said.

Manke said volunteers were "shaken up" but there were no physical injuries.

"This is the first time we've ever received violence toward the center," Manke said. "We're on edge about it. When we opened, we received such a warm welcome from the community, so it's a shock that this happened."

Our Center posted a Facebook Live video which had been shared almost 400 times and viewed over 13,000 times by Wednesday morning. In the video, an unidentified person pans around the front of the building showing the shattered windows and door.

At about 90 seconds into the video, the person recording zooms in on a rock and says, "That's what they threw."

"It just sort of goes to show that even in where we think it's such a progressive Reno, that we're getting so much better, we're so accepting, that there's still people with so much hate in their hearts out there," the person recording the video says.

Manke said the center won't close due to the incident.

"We're determined to stay resolute and to continue providing services to our community," he said. "There are crazy people out there, but we're picking up the pieces and moving forward."

Donations can be made to Our Center at www.razoo.com/organization/Buildourcenter

The community center opened in April 2016 after years of fundraising.

Anyone with information relating to this crime or the suspect(s) should contact the Reno Police Department at 334-2115, Secret Witness at 322-4900, www.secretwitness.com, or text the tip to 847411 (TIP 411) keyword - SW

This article has been updated to include comments from the Reno Police Department.