Drunk vandal sprays graffiti over new Beroun school wall worth 400,000 crowns

Police in Beroun have detained a woman who, while intoxicated, sprayed graffiti over a new concrete wall at Primary and Nursery School No. 2 on Prayslerova Street. The incident took place a few days ago, when a passer-by spotted the vandalism and immediately called the municipal police on 156.

The patrol arrived so quickly that they caught the suspect still at the scene. Officers found spray cans on the woman, born in 1982, who, according to the Beroun town hall, confessed to the act. A breathalyzer test showed 2.38 per mille, according to the Central Bohemian regional police.

Damage worth 400,000 crowns

"Proceedings have been launched in this case, and it is being handled as an accelerated pre-trial procedure. We are waiting for a precise assessment of the damage, after which the matter will go to court. In any case, this is a suspected crime — damage to another person's property," said Michaela Richterová, spokesperson for the Central Bohemian police.

What makes the incident particularly frustrating is that the large-scale mural was only completed in June this year. It covers nearly a hundred meters of concrete wall surrounding the school's sports field, which was finished in May. The town paid 400,000 crowns for the artwork.

The design was created by students from Prague's Art Private School of Design under the guidance of seventeen-year-old Kateřina Cikhartová. The image was projected onto the concrete surface using light projection and then finished by hand. The artwork links Beroun's past and future and pays tribute to its notable native figures.

The town hall has not yet said how much of the mural was damaged, how much repairs will cost, or whether some sections will need to be entirely repainted. It also remains unclear who will handle the restoration and whether the town will seek compensation from the suspect.

Reward for vigilance

Since 2016, Beroun has been offering a reward to residents whose tips help catch vandals responsible for graffiti. The one-time reward is 15,000 crowns, provided the report actually leads to charges or punishment of the offender.

"We understand that without the active involvement of residents, we simply couldn't catch these vandals. That's why we're glad when people don't stay indifferent to what's happening around them," said Beroun Mayor Soňa Chalupová. According to the town hall, the reward has already been paid out eight times since the rules were introduced. If the man who spotted the vandal near the school also receives it, this will be the ninth case.

Just a month earlier, another offender was caught: in early August, a local resident alerted a patrol to a woman spray-painting walls on Sadová Street. It later emerged that the same woman may have also damaged property on Plzeňská and Bratří Needlých streets. According to the town hall, the two cases are unrelated — they involve different individuals.

City officials stress that two such incidents occurring within a single month highlight just how important a quick response from witnesses can be. Suspicious behavior can be reported immediately to the municipal police at 156 or to the Czech police at 158 — it was exactly these prompt calls that allowed officers to catch both suspects red-handed.

Source: novinky.cz