CHADRON, Neb. -- The Chadron Police Department is asking the public for help in identifying the person or persons responsible for shooting the city’s East water tank early last week and causing over $22,000 damage.

Police Chief Rick Hickstein says the shots, which did not puncture the tank, came from the east.

HIckstein says the investigation indicates the shots came from the general direction of the CSC Rangeland Complex or South Ridgeview Road.

There may have been multiple shooters because the shots appear to be of multiple calibers with the dents from the impact of different depths.

Chief Hickstein says he’s turning to the public for help because the initial police investigation has hit a dead end.

Hickstein says vandalizing any property, public or private, but that serious damage to the water system affects all Chadron residents.

The East water tank has been undergoing a major maintenance project for the past year that includes repainting. City Manager Tom Menke, city Utilities Superintendent when the project began, says the vandalism likely added another week to the work.