Fourteen car windows and a window at a business were smashed in Metro Vancouver, and one person has been arrested in connection with the glass-smashing spree.
The incident took place in New West’s West End overnight near the 1500 block of Dublin Street. Officers were dispatched to the area at around 11:45 p.m. after a report of a car alarm going off.
When the vehicle owner went to check on his car, he noticed that the window had been smashed.
“Soon after, witnesses reported seeing someone riding a bicycle down the street damaging vehicles,” the New Westminster Police Department said in a statement.
A couple of hours later, New Westminster Police Department officers were called to a business on 12th Street. The owner of the business reported seeing a man on a bicycle kick out the glass of the front window of the business.
12th Street, a mixed commercial and residential area, is home to many independent and family-owned businesses. Officers were able to locate and arrest a suspect soon after that incident near Edinburgh and Henley streets, a quiet residential area in New West.
“This kind of behaviour is purely destructive and completely senseless,” said New Westminster Police Department Sergeant Andrew Leaver.
“We understand how upsetting it is for people to find their property damaged. We’re asking anyone whose vehicle or property was vandalized to reach out so we can piece together the full extent of what happened,” Leaver added.
At least 14 vehicles and two businesses are believed to have been damaged. The New Westminster Police Department says that if your car or property was damaged on Nov. 11 in the West End, you should report it to them at 604-525-5411.
The glass-smashing spree comes just a week or so after another spree in Metro Vancouver. A man was arrested in North Vancouver in late October after 16 reports of tires being slashed.