Lots of gang graffiti appeared on garage walls last Wednesday and Thursday night in a residential area just northeast of downtown DeKalb after a local gang went on a spray-painting spree, DeKalb police said.

Seven complainants reported gang graffiti at 830 N. Seventh St., 703 N. Seventh St., 423 N. Seventh St., 914 N. Ninth St., 920 N. 14th St., 1428 Clark St. and 927 Market St.

Police talked to the suspected gang but it denied any involvement in its gang signs being painted on walls, said DeKalb Police Lt. Jim Kayes.

The houses were chosen randomly as far as police can tell, Kayes said. The victims are not members of rival gangs.

“We know who these guys are,” he said. “It’s just a matter of catching them in the act.”

The neighborhood the graffiti showed up in is generally a quiet neighborhood with few problems, Kayes said.

The gang members used garage walls because they are like billboards to them, he said.

“We are offering a substantial reward to anybody who gives us information on the people involved,” Kayes said.