The Wareham Police Department is investigating possible gang activity as a result of a vandalism spree that occurred in the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 23.

At approximately 2:30 a.m., patrol officers observed freshly painted graffiti on several buildings in the Main Street business district and a nearby apartment house on Main Street.

Wareham officers saturated the area searching for the vandals. The Wareham Police K-9 unit was utilized. Wareham Police were also assisted by officers from the Marion Police Department.

As patrol officers were searching the area, an alarm came in at the Rite Aid Pharmacy located on Marion Road in the Shaw’s shopping plaza. A window had been smashed out and similar graffiti was found painted on the building as well as on a nearby residence on Gibbs Avenue.

Later that morning, day shift patrol officers responded to numerous other vandalism calls that are believed related to the earlier incidents. Graffiti was found on the Wareham Free Library as well as a fence that was kicked in and damaged. Additionally, vandals attempted to light two vehicles on fire, one vehicle on Highland Aveune and one on High Street. Both vehicles were also painted with similar graffiti.

“This type of activity will not be tolerated in the Town of Wareham,” Wareham Chief Richard Stanley said. “I am expending all of my available resources to find the persons responsible and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”

One of the prominent spray paintings is a backward “R” inside a red circle. Others include the Star of David, pitchforks, the word “homicide” and the initials “DJ”.

“Wareham Police detectives and patrol officers have been conducting intense around-the-clock investigations regarding these events and are very close to identifying possible suspects,” said Lt. Kevin Walsh, Operations Division Commander. "We are asking the public to come forward with any information they may have using the Text a Tip or the anonymous Tip Line.”

Visit www.warehampolice.com for information about submitting tips.