'This Machine' Says $20,000 Of Damage Done To Rental Bikes In One Weekend

A Tulsa nonprofit is reeling after vandals stole and destroyed several bikes from "This Machine."

The Bike-sharing program said the damages will set its finances back tremendously.

"We're just feeling really defeated today, but trying to put on a happy face," This Machine Executive Director Katie Sawicki said.

Sawicki said her team is shocked after discovering 15 bikes were either stolen or vandalized with a sledgehammer.

She said the nonprofit usually deals with a vandalism or theft about once a month, but she said this is something they've never experienced before.

"The theft this weekend and the vandalism this weekend is on par with what we usually see across an entire year," Sawicki said.

Sawicki also said this is the first time bikes have been stolen from a location near the Arkansas River.

Each electric bike costs $2,000 to replace, which Sawicki said is not easy to come back from.

"It's going to take some planning and a lot of work to build that back up," Sawicki said.

Sawicki said supply chain issues will make getting new bikes even more of a challenge.

Since This Machine is a nonprofit, it heavily relies on donations from the community.

Sawicki said the community support has been great, but also hopes there's not a repeat of this kind of vandalism.

"We hope that this is a one-off and doesn't happen again but yeah its been pretty terrible," Sawicki said.

If you find any of the missing or damaged This Machine bikes, Sawicki said to call so they can try to salvage as many parts as they can.