Officials in East Naples, Fla., are hoping to squash a marauding band of vandals who are frightening locals and destroying property by using pumpkins as their weapon of choice. The attacks happened this past weekend. Residents in the Queens Park area were hit with hundreds of dollars worth of damage caused by the smashing pumpkins — the fruit, not the musical group, which was in southern California this past weekend and nowhere near the crime scene. Thelma Flores told WZVN-TV that her car fell victim to the pumpkin attack. The damage to her back window will cost $500, according to the station. “There was a big hole, glass shattered all over the place, it was awful,” she said. Officials believe the same pumpkin was used on at least three other homes, and also destroyed a mailbox, according to the Sun-Sentinel. Although one witness told deputies that he saw a car speeding through the neighbourhood during the time period when the pumpkin attacks occurred — and even heard smashing noises — he didn’t call authorities, WBBH-TV reported. Officials are still investigating, but Flores suspects the culprits are teenage pranksters and she’s determined to catch them, even offering a reward to sweeten the pot. Not that she expects to pay it. “Whoever did this is paying for this,” Flores told the station. “And they’re going to have to pay for that reward.”
