A London, Ont., business owner is looking for answers after the front window of her Wortley Village flower shop was damaged Monday night by a projectile she believes was shot out of a passing vehicle.
It was around 9:30 p.m. when Sue Posno, owner of Posno Flowers on Cathcart Street, said she was alerted by her store’s security system that its glass break sensor had been activated.
One of the shop’s surveillance cameras captured what appeared to be a red Dodge Charger driving slowly down Cathcart toward Bruce Street with the driver’s side window rolled down.
A loud thud can be heard, followed moments later by the store’s security alarm. At one point in the video, which is somewhat fuzzy, the driver appears to bring their arm inside the car window before turning right onto Bruce Street, all at a leisurely speed.
Posno went to the store that night, but says she didn’t find anything signalling that an intrusion had happened. It wasn’t until daybreak, and after reviewing the surveillance video, that Posno learned what happened and located damage to one of the front windows.
“There’s a hole in the window with shatter marks around it, but from inside there’s window display and curtains and plants and so on, so I didn’t notice it until I looked at the video and went outside,” Posno said Thursday.
Posno said she reported the incident to police Tuesday morning, who told her that an officer would come to the scene, and that she should refrain from touching anything. “We’re open right now just for curbside pickup and deliveries, so it didn’t hamper customers,” she said.
An officer did eventually arrive, but not until 7:30 that night, roughly 10 hours after she says she first reported the incident. “I had to call twice just to get them to come,” she said.
Posno says she provided them with her surveillance video, which she also posted on the store’s Facebook page, and referred them to social media posts from other Londoners who reported having seen the vehicle on previous dates in other areas of the city.
She added she also provided police with surveillance video from neighbours that shows the vehicle turning left from Bruce onto Ridout Street, and then right onto Carfrae Street. It’s unclear where the vehicle goes from there.
Police would only say in a brief statement Thursday that they were “investigating property damage (at) that location.” Police have not confirmed any other details about the incident.
It’s still not exactly clear what struck the window and whether it may have been a bullet or potentially a pellet from an imitation firearm. Posno said she didn’t locate any possible projectile the morning after the incident.
“Forensics was here… they think likely it was a pellet gun, however, you could clearly see the shooter. It was the driver who shot whatever kind of gun it was out of the car,” Posno said.
Whatever it was that was fired, fixing the damage to the window will come at a cost of more than $1,000, she said.
“I’d really like to appeal to the public to keep looking for this vehicle. Anything that they can do to try to find this person, because I really would like to see this person not do this to somebody else, or hurt anyone,” she said.
“If somebody had been walking by… there have been reports of deaths even if it was a pellet gun, and it makes us all incredibly nervous.”
During her interview with 980 CFPL, Posno expressed disappointment about the length of time it took for an officer to arrive, as well as the lack of communication she has had with police in the days since the incident.
“I have reached out on several occasions via email and leaving phone message, and I have not had any further correspondence other than being told that the plate number I gave was unregistered,” Posno said.
“I’m very disappointed in the way that it’s been handled and the lack of follow up for me and the neighbourhood. It’s very traumatic.”
In an emailed statement on Friday, police said they were unable to issue further information about the incident as it was active and ongoing, adding that responding to calls for service requires prioritizing them based on a number of factors, “most important of which are the circumstances being reported.”
“If there is an immediate threat to public safety, then it will receive the highest priority. If that threat has passed and people are safe, the call will be dispatched in priority that takes into consideration other calls waiting to be serviced, as well as officer availability,” said police spokesperson Cst. Sandasha Bough.
Police receive roughly 540 calls for service every day, and they respond as quickly as they can with the resources that are available, Bough said.
“Each call is important, and we recognize that placing a call to 9-1-1 often stems from a dangerous and traumatic situation. We do our best to provide direction and information to keep the caller safe until police officers can arrive,” she said.
Anyone with information about Monday night’s incident is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.