Vandalism Rocks Langley Neighbourhood
April 03, 2003
corporate news report
Vandals have attacked the glass front door of Mary McCarthy's store twice in the past six weeks. The first time someone wielded either a tire iron or a piece of steel but wasn't able to penetrate much of the protective coating the Langley store owner had put on to combat vandalism. But the second time a slingshot was likely used to fire a marble through the door, showering her merchandise with glass slivers. She lost goods valued at $1,500 to $2,000 and had another $250 in damages to the door.
Her store, Brennan's Mens Wear, is in the Brookswood neighbourhood, which has been hit with more than 1,000 acts of vandalism in the past six months. McCarthy said it's "pretty frightening."
"We need to find out why and we need to make everybody aware of what is going on."
Vandals are breaking the windows of cars, houses, businesses and schools -- using slingshots, pellet guns, marbles and rocks. Fences have been broken, lamp standards damaged and civic signs destroyed. The crime wave has residents banding together, meeting with police and talking about doing citizen patrols in the early hours. McCarthy says neighbours know of a gang called either the Langley Lynchmen or Lynchmob. Aged 14 to 25, the gang members spray the initials LLM everywhere.
Brookswood Secondary School has seen a rise in vandalism this year, the biggest problem being broken windows and dumpster fires. The school has installed exterior video cameras in a bid to catch the vandals, but to no avail.
Langley RCMP Cpl. Dale Carr said there would be increased police patrols in Brookswood. He called on citizens to keep police informed.
"We need the extra ears and eyes. We need these things reported as quickly as you can."