HONOLULU (KHON2) — Honolulu police said thieves targeted the Barbers Point Bowling Center around 3 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 27.
“We found that they had broke in through the back door and basically destroyed the back door,” said Linda Painter, co-owner of the Barbers Point Bowling Center. “They came in, they couldn’t get the ATM cause it’s bolted into the ground, but they were able to unsecure the quarter changer machine, and they threw it to the ground and busted up the insides of that.”
Painter said the thieves struck out, unable to get away with any cash. However, they left thousands of dollars worth of damage behind.
“They just take your heart away when they do stuff like this. We’re small, we can’t afford this. We just can’t.”
Linda Painter, co-owner of the Barbers Point Bowling Center
Unfortunately, this is not the first time the business has become a victim of crime. In November 2021, Painter said thieves crashed through the front doors of the bowling alley. In that case, they left without any cash once again but racked up $2,000 worth of damage.
“We had to replace all that glass, and now we have to replace that back door. It’s a problem out here,” explained Painter.
Honolulu CrimeStoppers said when it comes to protection, sometimes businesses need to think outside the box.
“What I mean by that is kind of look at where potential entry points are for your business,” said Sgt. Chris Kim of Honolulu CrimeStoppers. “We saw a case not too long ago where a business was broken into where they made the entry through the roof. At that time, the business didn’t think anything about it, that’s someone actually trying to attempt to gain entry that way.”
Police added that at this time there are no suspects, and no arrests have been made.
For Barbers Point Bowling Center, they just want answers as to why anyone would do this.
“It hurts because we’re part of the community. I’m sure the two guys that broke in here last night have probably been here and ate or might’ve even bowled here, and yet they feel no connection to anything,” Painter added.
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Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Honolulu Police Department.
