HANSON, MASS. (WHDH) - Two juveniles were arrested in Hanson, accused of vandalizing a home under construction for a disabled veteran.
The teenage boys, whose names were not released, smashed every single window on a house being built by Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors — the first one this charity has built here in Massachusetts.
“This house is for a veteran. He’s a single-leg amputee, and his home right now doesn’t work for him on several levels,” said Karalexis, the lead project manager. “So what our organization does, we come in here, we build a fully functional handicapped home.”
Karalexis says the damage is so extensive, it’ll set them back weeks.
The home is free for the wounded veteran, but it costs construction crews time and money.
“They’re all mortgage-free,” Karalexis said. “We purchase the house, and the only way to do that is with the generosity of corporations. Every penny counts and the pennies go toward the projects.”
They estimate the damage at $50,000.
As for the suspects, thanks to some neighbors, and with the help of surveillance cameras from a store down the street, police were able to identify them.
The boys’ parents brought them to Hanson police Monday night, and the two teens are now charged with vandalism.
Karalexis says the veteran who’s moving into the home was hurt when he heard about what happened, and it also delayed when he can finally call this place home.
“This wasn’t just throwing a rock through a window of an abandoned warehouse,” Karalexis said. “This was the home of a disabled veteran who was looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with his family, and now that’s probably not going to happen.”
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