Local comic store vandalized, broken into

ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) - An Odessa business owner was devastated to find their store vandalized Friday morning.

The HIVE is a comic store in Odessa that is beloved by its patrons.

“Without them, this place would not exist, and it was definitely evident this morning when people showed up, and we’ve had people commenting, and messaging me, and calling me, and it really fills my heart with joy to know that we are loved even though we are just “a store”, but we are a community and we are a place to come and gather.” Said shop owner, James Laws.

But at around 4 AM Friday morning, Laws was woken up by The HIVE’s glass-shatter alarm going off.

“Showed up and the police were here, and three windows were busted, nobody was here, got a little camera footage of who broke in so…”

After breaking the glass with a rock, the vandal entered the store, but strangely enough did not steal or even use anything in the store, except maybe the bathroom.

“It’s possible, so the only thing that… the door was open; normally we close it, just by habit, so that was the only thing that might have been astray.”

Laws says that he has faith that The HIVE community will pull him through this hardship.

“I’ve stayed away from anger, and I did a post this morning on social media and sent out a few texts, and got 10 times the response than what I would have thought, so we just have a great community that loves this place, and we love them back .”

Anyone with information on this crime is encouraged to reach out to the Odessa Police Department.

The local comic book store is also accepting donations to fix their windows through Venmo (@thehivecomics), PayPal (@thirdprintingcomics@gmail.com), or general store purchases.

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