Cops: Vandals smash cars in Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh

Vandals went on a spree Saturday night and early Sunday morning, smashing the windows and windshields of more than 50 cars in Merrick, Bellmore and Wantagh, Nassau police said.

The rampage happened between 11 p.m. Saturday and 5 a.m. Sunday, police said, with similar acts of vandalism reported in North Bellmore and North Merrick. Police said the culprits used some kind of blunt object.

No other details were available from police.

Among the victims was Cathy Fiore of Wantagh. At 8:30 a.m. Sunday she found the rear window of her 2010 Hyundai Genesis, a car she bought two and a half weeks ago for just over $23,000, shattered.

"It's my new car, it's my new baby, it's very depressing, very saddening," said Fiore, 38.

Fiore said five cars on her Riverside Drive block were hit and that police are exploring whether a group of people in an SUV wielding a baseball bat are responsible. A neighbor, she said, heard breaking glass and laughter.

Fiore, an accountant, said she spent what she'd hoped would be a relaxing day Sunday trying to get a loaner vehicle, dealing with insurance and wondering how she'll get to work Monday in Huntington.

"It's disheartening," she said.

Police ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS