Westminster –An Army and Marine recruiting center was vandalized early Friday, and police believe it might be linked to a television news report about questionable practices by Army recruiters.
Police received a call at 7:30 a.m. Friday about the damage at the recruiting center, 7355 W. 88th Ave. Someone had fired eight gunshots into the recruiting center, breaking the glass at the front of the building, said Westminster police spokesman Tim Read.
Read said investigators believe the criminal mischief may have been in response to a news report Thursday night on KCNC-Channel 4 about the alleged practices of U.S. Army recruiters at a center in Golden. There were no notes left at the Westminster center to indicate that was definitely the case, but Read said investigators are convinced by the timing of the vandalism and the fact that the Westminster center has never had such problems before.
According to the News4 report, Arvada West High School student David McSwane made up a story about being a high school dropout with a marijuana problem to see if Army recruiters would still accept him.
The recruiters told the student to get a fake high school diploma and take “detox” pills to pass the drug test, News4 said.
Anyone with information about the Westminster vandalism should call police at 303-430-2400 or Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
