Vancouver police say they’re investigating a video of a dangerous stunt posted to social media.
The video was posted to Instagram on Jan. 13, and re-posted to the Vancouver Reddit subforum on Thursday. The video was deleted and the account made private on Friday.
In the video, a young man sits on the slanted roof of a tall downtown skyscraper, then uses it as a slide before standing up and coming to a stop less than a metre from the sheer drop-off at the edge.
WATCH: Full video of a man sliding down Vancouver skyscraper roof
The person filming the stunt can be heard saying, ‘Oh my gosh… Jeez,” before panning the camera left and right to show a view of English Bay and the Vancouver skyline.
Global News has confirmed that the incident occurred at a 140-metre 42-storey tower at 1189 Melville St. called The Melville. The building’s management believes the group was able to access the roof by sneaking into an elevator behind residents.
It is unclear when the video was filmed.
WATCH: Footage has been posted online of a man sliding down the slanted roof of a Vancouver skyscraper, and now police are investigating. The stunt is called “rooftopping.” As Sarah MacDonald reports, it’s not just the safety of that man at risk.
The Instagram account that posted the video contains several other photos of people standing on rooftops or on the underside of bridges.
Several photos posted to the account were taken from atop the Lions Gate Bridge.
Vancouver police said they were “looking into” the incident, and issued a warning against so-called “rooftopping,” which refers to the unsecured ascent of structures such as rooftops, cranes and antennas.
“Rooftopping is very dangerous and often criminal in nature,” said Const. Jason Doucette in an email.
WATCH: (Aired: April 16, 2016) Free climber warns of dangers after Hotel Vancouver stunt goes wrong
“Not only are the offenders putting themselves at risk, they are also potentially putting the public and first responders in danger. If one of these people slips and falls, a first responder has to put their safety at risk to rescue the rooftopper.”
Doucette said people caught rooftopping could face a variety of charges including break-and-enter and mischief.
Comments