Rock-throwing vandals have terrorized Swifts Beach residents who live on the roads at the end of Shore Avenue.

There is a beach with a large parking lot at the end of the road, and Tom Pirelli, of Beach Street, says the parking lot is used as something of a base for people who have been vandalizing the neighborhood.

Pirelli addressed the Selectmen on Tuesday on behalf of himself and a number of his neighbors who turned out to support his request that the town install more lighting in the area.

“There’s one light. It’s dark, you can’t see them coming,” said Pirelli.

Pirelli said hundreds of dollars of damage has been done to his own home.

Pirelli described numerous acts of vandalism, one of which did approximately $5,000 worth of damage to the resident's home. The man, who is 75 years old, went outside to yell at the kids who had thrown the rocks through his windows, and was subsequently pegged by rocks himself.

The vandals were back the next night, throwing rocks at the man’s home again.

The size of some of the rocks, and the force with which they crash through windows across the home, has led Pirelli and other residents to believe there is some kind of large sling shot being used.

“Kids are kids, but they brought it to a whole other level,” said Pirelli.

According to Pirelli, the attacks are neither spontaneous nor random.

"You’ll see piles of rocks," he explained. "It’s premeditated.”

In addition to the vandalism, Pirelli said residents have smelled marijuana, and the steady stream of traffic in and out of the area leads them to believe marijuana is being sold as well.

Residents call the police, but by the time the police arrive, the culprits are long gone. Residents acknowledged that during the summer, a temporary officer was stationed at the parking lot, but the officer was there during the day, and the crime is happening at night.

“We need [an officer] between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.,” said Pirelli.

There is a sign stating that the beach closes at 9 p.m., but according to Pirelli, little is done to enforce the curfew.

Members of the board expressed concern, but said the issue involves the day-to-day operations of the town, which they cannot involve themselves in, per the Town Charter.  However, the Selectmen did discuss marshaling the proper authorities to handle the matter.

Interim Town Administrator Derek Sullivan said: "I'm going to speak to the chief of police and the director of municipal maintenance and get together with you."