Ball State University police are searching for three unknown suspects after they vandalized Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house and several nearby vehicles, Director of Public Safety Gene Burton said.
According to police reports, two members of the fraternity reported seeing the suspects break three windows of the house early Saturday. The witnesses then saw the vandals break windows on seven vehicles, according to reports.
The total cost of damage was about $1,500, according to reports.
Fraternity President Patrick Sullivan said he did not see the suspects, but a few fraternity members were in the house at the time of the incident.
"We had a few guys kind of hanging out in our back kitchen area when three guys in ski masks came up and hit the windows out with pool cues," Sullivan said. "One brother spotted them hitting a car. He basically scared them off."
One of the suspects took off the ski mask, Sullivan said, but no one was able to clearly see what he looked like.
"One [fraternity] brother said he saw one of them take off his mask," he said. "He looked like a typical guy in college who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt."
Burton said the witnesses reported that all the suspects were white, average height and wore ski masks.
"The physical description of the suspects was vague so we don't have a lot to go on," he said.
All the vandalized vehicles belonged to fraternity members, Sullivan said. The suspects did not steal anything from the house or the vehicles, he said.
"It was just pure vandalism," he said.
Burton said police were unsure of a motive, but it might have been related to a rivalry.
"There's two obvious ways you can look at it," he said. "First, it could be a grudge by former members, or it could be a grudge by members of another fraternity. We're just relying on a little experience at this point."
Sullivan said he did not know who the suspects could be, but he did not think it was another fraternity or sorority.
"I truly believe this was not a greek incident," he said. "It's too severe. Usually the kinds of pranks the fraternities pull are more lighthearted. This seems they were really out to get us."
Sullivan said he would meet with Cara Luyster later this week to discuss the incident.
Luyster, the assistant director of student life, could not be reached for comment by Monday afternoon.
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