Marcella Corona

mcorona@rgj.com

Reno police are searching for two masked vandals who were caught on security cameras spray painting over a local gun shop’s sign, which showed support for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Republican vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence.

The Reno Police Department is investigating the incident and are reviewing footage from security cameras, Officer Tim Broadway said Tuesday.

“We are in a political season,” Broadway said. “We’ll get reports of vandalisms on political signs. We have such strong feelings on both candidates. We hope we don’t see anymore.”

Sharon Oren, owner of Maccabee Arms LTD, said his cameras caught a man and woman at about 8:30 p.m. Monday spraying the 6-foot-by-4-foot sign. The two individuals walked up to the shop from Grove Street, pulled up their hoodies and hid their faces behind what was described as a surgical mask.

One person sprayed over the sign, while the other kept watch. The two then ran toward Echo Street and eventually returned to spray the back of the sign and graffiti the owner’s armored vehicle.

The shop is owned and operated by local veterans and is located on 2105 Kietzke Lane.

“We’re the only building in our area that hasn’t been tagged,” Oren said. “I don’t think it was gang-related other than hate for someone else, who has the right to express themselves.”

Oren said he plans to remove and replace the sign.

“It’s very hurtful,” he said. “We’re a small business locally owned. A lot of the people who work here went to war to fight for the right for people to express themselves.

“Every time they hurt property, that costs money.”

Oren said the sign cost about $80, but the armored vehicle costs about $1,000.

“We need to condemn it,” Oren said. “Left or right it doesn’t matter. This is what this election has brought us, hate. I don’t care if it’s a Trump sign or a Hillary sign, we need to put a stop to it as a community.”

Oren said he believes the two vandals planned to spray the sign because they were prepared with masks and had tools.

“It wasn’t a spare the moment,” he said. “They knew we had cameras.”

Check with RGJ for more updates as they become available.

Marcella Corona covers breaking news for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Contact her at 775-788-6340, email her at mcorona@rgj.com or follow her on Twitter at @Marcella_Anahi or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Marcella.Anahi