Authorities are investigating after, police say, vandals targeted the homes of Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner and County Commissioners Mark Billingsley and Amber Mills Tuesday, July 28.

Police said vandals threw paint on the driveway of the county officials’ homes, and leaflets calling for defunding the Sheriff’s Office and allocating money to education were left on their property.

Billingsley, who is commission chairman, issued a response, saying: “I have tried to be a champion of the underserved and marginalized in my personal, professional and public life. Vandalizing our home and scaring my family is a really poor way to communicate a message.

“My faith tells me to pray for the people that did this and that is what I will do. I am always willing to sit down and talk with anyone. I would encourage whoever felt compelled to do this, to speak with me. This will not change my efforts to improve our community, nor change my heart. I want to be a part of solutions to better Shelby County for all of us.”

The incidents involved scattering some fliers advocating defunding police and other law enforcement as well as pink paint splattered on the ground, according to Shelby County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Capt. Anthony Buckner.

“The sheriff had some loose papers that were scattered about on his lawn and there was some kind of pinkish liquid that was spilled at the edge of his driveway in the street out in front of his home,” he said.

Bonner called Bartlett police, who are investigating the incident. Buckner said the Sheriff’s office is investigating the incident at Mills’ home.

The Shelby County Republican Party condemned the vandalism in an online statement Wednesday, calling it “outrageous and criminal” and “solely intended to intimidate and frighten our public servants and their families.”

“This is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue,” the Facebook post on the party’s page reads. “It’s about right vs. wrong. The overwhelming majority of our community, regardless of party affiliation, unequivocally rejects this vandalism and their calls to defund law enforcement.

“We hold our elected officials accountable at the ballot box, not through vigilantism,” it concludes.