When Terry O’Neal, manager of Avis Rent-a-Car, received a phone call early Tuesday morning informing her of damage to some of the cars at the rental lot, she was in shock.

“I’ve been doing this for 12 years and never had a problem,” she said. “Then I get a 4 a.m. call. It’s truly shocking.”

O’Neal went to the lot and discovered nine vehicles had been targeted by what she believes must have been a group of vandals. The damage is in excess of $13,000.

Avis car rental has 60 vehicles at its location near the airport.

“Luckily, a lot were out on rent,” O’Neal said.

Found at the scene was a large 4-by-4 wooden pole that has a piece of metal attached to it, and O’Neal believes it was used to smash the windshields of the vehicles and damage the paint on the cars. On some of the vehicles, side mirrors were torn off and it appeared the perpetrator may have tried to smash in side windows, but because cars were close together may not have been able to get the leverage needed.

In addition to the cost of repair, O’Neal said the damage costs Avis revenue because the cars cannot be rented until they are fixed.

Vehicles vandalized included brand new Camrys and older vehicles.

O’Neal said there appeared to be no pattern for the vandals’ selection or the damage they inflicted. One car would be hit, but the one next to it left untouched.

“Really there’s no rhyme or reason,” O’Neal said. “It just makes you wonder, were they drunk?”

O’Neal said Alaska State Troopers had broken up a party on the Buskin River about 1 a.m. Tuesday with about 40 in attendance, many high school students. She said Monday was supposed to be senior skip day at the high school.

O’Neal said police believe the vandalism occurred sometime after 1 a.m. and that the trooper investigating had at least one possible lead.

The damage was discovered by Military Police around 3:30 a.m. O’Neal said police were making their rounds and noticed the alarm system on one of the trucks had a light flashing.

O’Neal said little things have occurred at the lot, but never anything as bad as what occurred Tuesday.

The wooden pole used apparently came off an old vehicle sitting in front of a neighboring property. It was very heavy, O’Neal said, and may have taken more than one person to lift to be able to push it into the windshields.

The lot was not fenced in and the business did not have security cameras in place.

“We’ve never had a reason to before,” O’Neal said. “Things may change now.”

Megan Peters, spokesperson for Alaska State Troopers, said at the time the incident was reported five cars were discovered to be damaged. The investigation is ongoing.

Mirror writer Misty Maynard can be reached via e-mail at mmaynard@kodiakdailymirror.com.