Man shattered Calgary Peace Bridge glass panels with hammer, police say

A man with a hammer was spotted smashing some glass panes of Calgary's Peace Bridge on Sunday morning, police say.

Police received a call around 4:15 a.m. Sunday of a man vandalizing the Peace Bridge, Staff Sgt. John Guigon told CBC News.

Guigon said police did chase the man on foot but lost him. 

The only description police have of the suspect is of a 40 to 45-year-old male wearing grey jeans. Guigon said the man may have had a shopping cart at one point, but police did not see one when they arrived on scene. 

Police do have some surveillance footage of the scene, Guigon said. Their investigation into the incident is active and ongoing. 

Guigon said vandalism happens around the city regularly, but this event was unusual.

"There's been other vandalisms on that bridge in the past, but not to the same level as this one," he said.

Guigon said police have promising leads in their investigation and he thinks the case "may be solvable."

"Really it's probably a person abusing drugs or alcohol, I suspect, is what it comes down to, or [someone] experiencing some sort of emotional crisis and acting out."

Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong said about 80 per cent of the bridge's side panels have been damaged.

He said repairs will be "extremely expensive." The city already spends roughly $80,000 a year to remove and replace broken panels on the Peace Bridge.

Wong said there are extra panels in stock to replace the smashed glass, but he is unsure if there is enough supply to cover the extent of damage this incident caused. The timeline for fixing the damage is not known at this point, according to Wong.

In June, the city announced it had hired a consultant to find alternative material options to the bridge's glass panels. Recommendations are expected in the fall.

About a month ago, the city also put up posters on the bridge to discourage vandalism.