Okotoks seniors are facing hundreds or thousands of dollars in damage after their cars were vandalized earlier this month.
On the morning of April 4 residents at Sheep River House on Elma Street found every vehicle behind the building had been keyed sometime overnight.
Judy Yorke said she is upset over the indiscriminate nature of the vandalism.
“We don’t cause any trouble and people do that to us?” she said.
Gashes measuring a foot long or more were left on 10 vehicles parked behind the building. All were keyed on the driver’s side with a single scratch, with the exception of one which was left with a ‘A’ carved in the side.
She said no one heard anything outside the building during the night.
“Sometimes with kids, you can hear them yelling and screaming at one, two, three in the morning and I’ll jump out of bed,” she said.
Estimates for repair costs range from $600 to $1,400 and more for each vehicle.
Yorke said the repair bills are a lot for seniors who are on fixed incomes. She has received an estimate of $600 to repair the damage to her vehicle. While her insurance will cover the damage, she still has to pay a $250 deductible.
“You take that out of our bank accounts, that’s a lot of money,” she said.
Phil Aube said it’s going to cost more than $1,000 to repair the damage to his car. He said it’s disappointing for residents in the building to have to deal with.
“It’s a pure case of vandalism,” said Aube.
New, brighter lights will be installed behind the building to discourage similar incidents in the future.
Okotoks RCMP Sgt. Donna Rorison said there have been a number of minor incidents recently of people targeting vehicles in town but this is the only incident where vehicles were keyed.
“We’ve had lots of just stupid stuff,” she said. “We had one the other day where somebody was putting ketchup all over vehicles.”
Rorison said it’s random vandalism and disrespectful of other people’s property.
“Pretend it was their auntie’s car, or their parents or their sisters and realize that an awful lot of people can’t afford to pay the deductible to get something fixed,” she said.
Rorison said anyone who sees suspicious activity or incidents of vandalism in progress should call Okotoks RCMP at 403-938-7046 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
