Vandalism To Tri-County Health Comes Amid Threat 'END. THE LOCKDOWN. NOW.'
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- The search continues for the suspect or suspects involved in five separate instances of vandalism over the past three weeks at the Tri-County Health Department office in Aurora.
"Nobody should be surprised that there are these threats that are out there," said Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman Thursday of the vandalism and the threats against Tri-County Health officials.
Coffman also commended the residents of Aurora for their relative calm and compliance in the face of extraordinary sacrifice.
"Given the dramatic nature of what we are going through, that things have been as calm as they have, I think is historically pretty extraordinary," he said.
Still, threats have prompted increased patrols and surveillance from Greenwood Village police and Aurora police. Both departments are now offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the suspect(s) for the vandalism of the office.
The vandalism comes amid a threat emailed to the headquarters of Tri-County Health which oversees Douglas, Adams, and Arapahoe Counties. The message read, in part, "You're about to start a ... civil war. END. THE LOCKDOWN. NOW. Or face severe consequences."
"People think that it wasn't as bad as people were predicting, well it wasn't as bad as people were predicting because we took such dramatic measures to combat it," said Coffman.
The mayor defended actions taken by state and federal leaders so far, and said the last thing he wants to have happen moving forward is a spike in cases, hospitals overflowing and then being forced to go back to stay-at-home orders.
"Our residents have to continue social distancing, have to continue the hand washing, have to continue wearing masks where appropriate," he said.
Anyone with information regarding these crimes is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867). You can text to CRIMES (274637) then title DMCS and enter your message or send an e-mail to metro-denvercrimestoppers.com. If the information you provide leads to the arrest and charging of a wanted individual, you can receive a cash reward up to $2,000.
STORY UPDATE: Vandalism Suspect Indentified, Daniel Pesch Allegedly Told Tri-County Health To 'Enjoy The Broken Windows'
