WATERVILLE — The Lighthouse building, operated by the Waterville Area Soup Kitchen on College Avenue, was vandalized late Tuesday when one of its windows was shattered by a man who threw a rock through it.
Carla Caron, president of the soup kitchen’s board of directors, said Wednesday that the incident was caught on security cameras installed around the building at 38 College Ave.
The man who threw the rock has been identified but she declined to publicly name him.
“Clearly it’s somebody who was struggling,” Caron said. “Somebody with a mental illness or an addiction, or both.”
Waterville police are investigating the matter.
The man threw a “good-sized” rock through one of the windows facing College Avenue, she said, adding that she’s never seen the suspect in the soup kitchen before.
“I think it was very random. I think he was having a mental health episode … he was in the area for several hours, talking to himself, yelling to himself,” Caron said.
Some of The Lighthouse’s patrons were upset to learn of the vandalism, she said.
“They’re protective of this place,” she said.
Plywood was placed over the shattered window and a new one should be in place by next week, Caron said.
“We’re right on top of it, and we’ll continue to serve,” Caron said.
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