CTA needs help identifying vandals breaking glass on new tramway

The $18 million Coast Transit Authority tramway has only been open since January — but vandals already have been at work.

Gulfport Police are investigating three vandalism incidents that have left CTA with four glass panels shattered on the tramway over Highway 90.

Replacing those four panels will force CTA to take a $35,000 hit to its operating budget.

Executive Director Kevin Coggin said the four panels were damaged last month. One panel was hit by what Coggin believes was a 9mm round, possibly fired from a car driving down Highway 90.

In another incident — caught on security camera, a suspect drove up, walked up the tramway and broke two panels, then took off in his vehicle. CTA has released that footage and asks that if anyone can identify the suspect or the vehicle, that they call Gulfport Police or Coast Crime Stoppers.

Coggin said in addition to security cameras, they do have manned security 24-7 on the property, but his team are instructed to call police rather than confront suspects.

“We’ve already had one person attacked at night,” Coggin said. “So we ask them to sit in the video room and monitor the cameras. If they see something, they call the police.”