Six stores, businesses damaged by vandalism in northwest downtown Dayton

A broken window at Rabbit Hole Books at 29 W. First Street in the northwest part of downtown Dayton. Someone damaged windows and doors of at least six businesses and storefronts on Aug. 12, 2025. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

A broken window at Rabbit Hole Books at 29 W. First Street in the northwest part of downtown Dayton. Someone damaged windows and doors of at least six businesses and storefronts on Aug. 12, 2025. CORNELIUS FROLIK / STAFF

At least half a dozen businesses and storefronts in the northwest part of downtown Dayton were damaged by vandalism on Tuesday morning, but employees say they believe the suspect has been apprehended by police.

Glass and Plexiglas windows and doors were broken or shattered at Teardrop Steakhouse, Rabbit Hole Books, Lisse Beauty Bar, Cosmo Joe’s Atomic Lounge, the League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area and the Salon. These businesses and storefronts are located on the first and second blocks of West First Street and the 100 block of North Ludlow Street.

Gene Lamar, an employee with Miami Valley Door Lock and Key, measures a window on Tuesday, Aug. 12 in the front of Rabbit Hole Books on West First Street that was damaged due to being vandalized. BRYANT BILLING / STAFF

Credit: Bryant Billing

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Credit: Bryant Billing

An alarm went off at Teardrop Steakhouse, located at 111 W. First St., at around 4 or 4:30 a.m. Tuesday morning after someone threw large rocks through a couple of the windows, said Amy Hoskins, general manager at the steakhouse.

There was glass everywhere, and it took hours to clean up the mess, Hoskins said. Two windows have been boarded up with plywood that was painted black to try to match the color scheme of the restaurant. She said the suspect and the window smashing was caught on video tape.

Large chunks of pavement also were thrown through the windows of Rabbit Hole Books, located at 29 W. First Street. Rabbit Hole Books, a nonprofit associated with the Dayton Book Fair, had three windows damaged and one of the doors was busted out, said Amanda Gray, store coordinator. A piece of pavement about the size of a cantaloupe was found inside the store.

A worker cuts a wooden board to fit in a window space in front of 112 W. 1st St. in downtown Dayton. The window was damaged due to vandalism. BRYANT BILLING / STAFF

Credit: Bryant Billing

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Credit: Bryant Billing

Gray said police told her they were able to identify the suspect after they followed a trail of blood, evidently from when he cut himself while smashing glass.

Gray said it’s sad to see someone cause damage to a nonprofit and other properties for no reason. She said cleaning up after the vandalism is a headache, and they have to be careful to make sure there are no pieces of glass remaining that could harm their visitors, which often include small children.

“I don’t understand it ... It’s a little bit of a nightmare,” she said. “I hope (the suspect) gets the help he needs.”

Jane Scott, owner of Lisse Beauty Bar at 21 W. First St., said three of her Plexiglas windows and her front door were smashed by rocks. She said she’s worried she might be on the hook for some of the repair and replacement costs, which could be in the thousands of dollars.

Lisse Beauty Bar has been in business for eight years, but the salon has had some issues with trespassers and criminal damaging in the last two years, Scott said.

An electric sign inside Teardrops Steakhouse is visible through a window with trees reflecting on Tuesday, Aug. 12. The window beside it replaced with a wooden board painted black. The glass window was damaged due to vandalism. BRYANT BILLING / STAFF

Credit: Bryant Billing

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Credit: Bryant Billing

She said intruders and homeless individuals went down into a basement area of her building and damaged or cut off the lights, utilities and wifi at her salon. She said someone also stole copper from the downstairs area.

Scott said she believes the vandalism spree on Tuesday was likely tied to mental illness. She said this underscores the need to help people with mental illness who hang around downtown get the treatment and medications they need.

“We need hospitals and mental health centers where these people can be taken in — and not put a band-aid on it and keep them overnight," she said. “They don’t need to put them in jail, which is what happens. They put them in jail a couple of days, they let them go and then it’s right back to the same thing.”

The health of downtown depends on addressing issues with individuals with serious mental health challenges, and also it would help to have more police patrols in that part of downtown, she said.

Hoskins, with Teardrop, said this appears to be a random event that could happen anywhere. But she said she would like to see more police patrols and a greater law enforcement presence in northwest downtown. The Main Street and Third Street corridors are much more heavily patrolled, she said.

Cosmo Joe’s Atomic Lounge, the League of Women Voters and the Salon are in ground floor commercial spaces in the Talbott Tower, while Lisse Beauty Bar and Rabbit Hole Books are in the same building as the First Street Garage. Teardrop is in the ground floor of the 111 office tower.

Occasionally, vandals go on a window-smashing spree in Dayton. A string of vandalizations in June 2024 left multiple businesses in and just east of downtown with broken windows and other damaged property. A 55-year-old Riverside man was arrested and faced dozens of charges related to the vandalism.

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