Enraging moment remorseless teen vandals destroy local business’ $2.4million crane before boasting about it on social media: ‘Because we can’
- Two teens vandalised millions of dollars of machinery
- They posted videos of the acts online
- Local business owners were devastated
Teenage vandals have been caught bragging about the destruction of millions of dollars worth of machinery belonging to local businesses after they posted videos of the shameless acts online.
Owners of the damaged equipment said two teenage boys had destroyed a $2.4million crane and a 20tonne excavator over the weekend, before uploading videos of themselves on social media.
In the videos, two males can be seen smashing the windows of the crane after having covered it in spray paint and tearing pieces off the equipment.
Two teen boys filmed themselves vandalising millions of dollars worth of machinery belonging two local Cairns businesses
Footage posted online shows the boys smashing windows of a $2.4million crane
The boys can be heard boasting and swearing as they continue to ravage the machine.
Text overlayed on the footage reads: ‘because we can’, followed by a kissing face emoji.
The $2.4m crane is the property of family-owned and run Cairns business Century Cranes.
General manager Bianca Wilson said she was devastated following the discovery of the attack on her property and that the crane had been purchased only last year.
‘It’s one of two of our largest machines and with the infrastructure projects around Cairns at the moment, we rely heavily on both of them,’ Ms Wilson told the Courier Mail on Monday.
‘We are unsure whether the equipment will need to be written off as we are still getting that evaluated.’
Ms Wilson said it was the damage to the crane’s internal computer system that was of most concern as it was crucial for the machine’s functioning.
The vandals used a large wooden pole to smash the heavy machinery
The $500,000 excavator is owned by Cairns business Advanced Civil Earthworks.
Supervisor Toby Proctor said the vandals destroyed windows, ripped out the radio and covered the exterior and interior in spray paint.
Mr Proctor said he was waiting for police to fully assess the damage to the expensive piece of machinery.
Mr Proctor said he and Ms Wilson were able to identify and contact the reckless teens through the online videos, but they had showed no remorse.
‘The issue here is youth crime and the fact that they are doing this for no apparent reason but to destroy somethin,’ he said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Queensland Police for comment.
Advertisement
