Startling footage of graffiti attack on train as terrified passengers watch
Startling video has emerged of a brazen graffiti attack by three men who shut down an Adelaide train and terrified passengers.
It’s one of hundreds of similar incidents this year, leaving taxpayers with a clean-up bill of more than half a million dollars.
Dressed in black and masked with balaclavas, the trio struck at midnight on the Gawler line, in the state’s northern suburbs.
“[One man] just ran onto the train pulled the emergency stop, ran off the train to meet up with two other people, and then they just went for it and graffitied the whole side of a two-carriage train,” witness Matt Oxford told 7 News.
Initially, the vandal’s spray can terrified passengers.
“I assumed it was some kind of weapon or something, so I was pretty nervous,” Mr Oxford said.
Their handiwork took less than two minutes, then they gave a thumbs up for the camera and split.
“I just heard laughter,” Mr Oxford added.
“They thought it was a bit of a joke and they were pretty proud of themselves.”
He and five other passengers on the train couldn’t believe what they were seeing. They said they tried to get the attention of two security guards, with no success.
“[The security guards] were just at the front of the train, just sort of minding their own business, having a bit of a conversation.”
One month on, police are still reviewing the security video.
Frustratingly, attacks like this are becoming more common.
In 2016, there were 252 incidents costing taxpayers close to $173,000 in damages, up from 194 incidents equating to $146,000 in 2014.
With the additional cost of cameras, staff and vehicle expenses, the annual bill is costing the Department of Transport more than $600,000.
“There’s so many better uses we could put that to if we didn’t have to spend this money on cleaning up these kind of graffiti attacks,” the department’s Paul Kermode said.
