SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A man is repairing his car after a panhandler took a hammer to his windows when he refused to hand over money.

Thursday afternoon around 4 p.m. a man was driving his car and stopped near 8th St. and Main Ave. when a panhandler asked him for money.

“The driver refused to give him money. The panhandler then pulled out a hammer and broke several windows, actually threw the hammer through one of the broken windows into the vehicle, and then the owner of the driver of the car ended up chasing the panhandler, the suspect away,” Sioux Falls Police Department spokesman Sam Clemens said.

Police arrested 36-year-old Skyler Bluebird for aggravated assault and intentional damage to property.

Clemens says situations like this don’t typically escalate to this scale.

“Occasionally, we’ll have people that are aggressive, but usually not to this type of extent,” Clemens said.

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Clemens says the number of people panhandling has gone up over the years.

“You know, five, ten years ago, there were some people that would do it, but it was pretty rare. But now it seems like there’s been an influx and I don’t know if the word has spread or what’s changed, but there’s more people that have signs that are looking for money,” Clemens said.

Although there are many signs around Sioux Falls encouraging people to say no to panhandlers, people continue to donate.

Clemens says one of the biggest concerns with that is safety.

“We’ve seen panhandlers wandering through the traffic, through the stopped cars, the light turns green. And now that’s a safety problem. Cars can’t move. Or if they move, you just never know when somebody is going to wander,” Clemens said.

There were no injuries reported and officers on scene suspected the panhandler was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Instead of giving out money on the street, Clemens says the best way to help is by giving directly to your local nonprofits.