CALGARY – A group of Inglewood homeowners took matters into their own hands after bikes and buggies for their kids were stolen this past week.
But after the theft came vigilante behavior. It’s a risk they don’t regret, but it came with a scolding from police.
Andrea Pahl says she went back to the homeless camp where they found their stuff, looking to reclaim more pieces of her property.
“Beyond angry to be honest. We felt violated. The kids were devastated as well.
“He didn’t just take from myself and my husband, he took from three children as well,” Pahl claimed.
The chariot or buggy she uses to transport her kids was stolen.
The mother-of-three says she has no doubt that the one found in the camp near the bird sanctuary was hers.
Tuesday night, she and a group of neighbours went in to get it back.
“It felt empowering. We were taking back what was ours. We were taking back something that had been wrongfully taken from us,” said Pahl.
The neighbourhood was first alerted to the set-up by Cheryl Myers.
Myers says she was walking her dogs Tuesday morning when she saw a man on a bike while ghost-riding another one.
She felt something was up and asked him if the bike was in fact his.
“Then he had some choice words for me and told me he was taking the bike to his camp.”
Myers then called police but residents say not much was done.
That very same day they decided to act on the matter themselves.
Cutters in hand, they freed some of the property that was chained up and took pictures.
The neighbours Global News spoke to said: “You should have seen this place before it was raided but there’s still a lot of stuff left behind.” Including a bicycle, some laptops, alarm clocks and even hockey equipment lying around.
Calgary police say helping people in danger or distress is their highest priority.
“Which sometimes means that calls about stolen property cannot be addressed immediately,” explained _(name of police officer or spokesperson)
But patience is encouraged. Residents were told not to put themselves at risk.
While people like Andrea and Cheryl say they understand, they feel a message needed to be sent.
“It was more just letting them know, ‘OK, well, we know you’re here and we want you gone.’”
Police say they plan on patrolling the area again Friday night. They added theft across the city is up by 36 per cent this year.
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