A business owner in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood says someone tried to shoot through her shop window during a break-in attempt this month.
Brooke Floyd arrived at her consignment clothing store, In Again Fashions, on West 4th Avenue on April 5 to find the front window damaged.
The neighbourhood, she said, has been plagued with a string of broken windows, and assumed it was another random incident of vandalism.
“It wasn’t until a few days later when the glass guy came out, and he looked at the window and said, ‘You know that’s a bullet hole, right?’ that I immediately went to the video cameras, played it back, and was able to catch the people doing it standing there,” she said.
“They actually came twice, they came at 5 a.m. and attempted to break in through the window, and when that didn’t work they left, came back again at 7 in the morning. It was a guy and his girlfriend trying to break in, broad daylight, cars going by behind him, and when that didn’t work I literally watched him turn around, reach into his girlfriend’s purse, turn back around, aim a gun at the window and shoot it.”
Floyd said she wasn’t sure if it was an actual firearm or some kind of replica pellet gun. Still, it looked real enough that she would have been scared if someone pointed it at her. Fortunately, the would-be thieves gave up when the plate glass failed to smash.
Floyd has since posted a sign and photo of the suspect in the front window hoping to let them know that her security cameras work and she’s watching for them.
Vancouver police confirmed they were investigating the incident, but said they had not identified a suspect.
Floyd bought the business just before COVID-19 hit. Since taking over she’s had to deal with multiple break-in attempts and so many shoplifters that she has an entire wall of thieves’ photos.
She said some thieves have managed to make off with thousands of dollars in product, and that many are blasé about being caught.
“I’ve got 10 cameras in here and they still come in. They’re very brazen. They walk in. You catch them doing it, and they’re just, ‘Nope,’ and they leave,'” she said, adding things have gotten violent when she’s tried to stop them.
“I’ve been hit and kicked, actual altercations.”
She said she’d like to see a more visible police presence in the neighbourhood, but isn’t sure what else police can do to discourage thieves.
While Floyd has insurance, she said she’s paying out of pocket for the window repairs because it’s cheaper than paying the deductible and increases to her premiums.
Despite it all, she has no plans to give up on her business.
“We’re just starting to bounce back from COVID, and as far as the windows, that’s on me to replace it,” she said.
“Maybe when we catch up from all the bills we’ll put some bars on the windows,” she said.
— With files from Julia Foy