Crime
Clayton Park parking lot hit with bout of vandalism
Tires were slashed, windows and doors spray painted
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The words "cow" and "moo" were written on several cars in the parking lot.caption
The words “cow” and “moo” were written on several cars in the parking lot.A Clayton Park resident is considering moving after he says vandals targeted his car four times in two weeks.
“It’s pretty well out of control, it’s absolutely ridiculous,” said Jon Walsh.
Walsh and his fiancée, Jillian Cochran, live in an apartment building on Chadwick Place, off Lacewood Drive. Walsh said they woke up Thursday morning to find their cars were covered in yellow spray paint and two back tires on Cochran’s car slashed. The damage, he said, amounts to more than $2,000.
Walsh said the first hit of vandalism involving his car and a couple of others happened on Nov. 20. He thought it was an “isolated incident” until five cars were vandalized this week, three nights in a row. Related stories
In the latest incident, some cars had “moo” and “cow” spray painted on the doors and bumpers. Others had up to all four tires slashed. Windshields and mirrors were also spray painted.
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Cochran’s car was also vandalized.Walsh said he contacted Halifax Regional Police the first time it happened, and an officer collected information about each car that was vandalized.
“They said there wasn’t a ton they could do,” he said.
Const. Carol McIsaac, a spokesperson with HRP, said Clayton Park is not prone to vandalism.
“Five calls in one month is certainly an abnormality,” she said.
McIsaac said there are no witnesses, suspects or evidence related to the incident. She said the divisional commander for the Clayton Park area is aware of the vandalism and more patrol cars have been deployed.
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Tires slashed on this car that Walsh says was also parked outside the apartment building.Walsh turned to Facebook to warn others. In a post on the Nova Scotia Volkswagen (NSVW) Facebook page, Walsh posted pictures of his blue Volkswagen Jetta covered in yellow paint. He told users that he will invest in a dashboard camera while he waits for police to catch the culprit.
Walsh said he doesn’t know why his car was vandalized, but suspects someone has been targeting people who live in the apartment building.
“They’ve come back and decided, for whatever reason, they were going to target my parking lot, which makes me think they’re trying to make people leave the building,” he said.
Walsh, who moved to Halifax from Saint John, N.B., last year, makes a daily work commute to Pepsico Foods Canada in Bedford. He said getting his tires slashed was “the last straw” and, for now, he’s going to park his car in another location.
“It’s a bit ridiculous to think we have to live here,” said Walsh. “If nothing gets resolved we’re moving.”
The manager of the building told The Signal he didn’t know what was happening and declined to comment further.
