'It's terrifying': B.C. business owner fears store being targeted after latest break-in attempt

An attempted break-in to a Metro Vancouver business was caught on camera this weekend, leaving the owner with a terrifying sense of déjà vu.

Taryn Stephenson, who co-owns T’s Once Upon A Tea Leaf in Maple Ridge, was awoken by an alarm at 4 a.m. Sunday warning her of an incident at the shop.

Her security cameras captured what unfolded in video she shared with CTV News.

"A man arrived to our store dressed in black with something sharp – a hammer or a crowbar – in his hand. He tried to smash her front door, was not successful, to smash our front window, not successful," she said.

"He was pretty determined to get in. He was punching it and kicking the window to try and get through and he had a can of something in his hand."

For Stephenson, the video evoked the distressing memory of what happened almost exactly one year ago. On Sept. 21, 2023, someone broke the windows of the store and threw a marine pyrotechnic inside, sending plumes of smoke pouring throughout the premises and covering the entire store and all of its contents in an orange film.

"That destroyed everything that we've worked for for 18 years, from our products to our fixtures, down to the pens and post-it notes. It all had to be thrown away," Stephenson said. "To have something that feels so similar happen again, it's quite scary."

With community support, donations and a lot of hard work the store was able to reopen nine weeks after the reported vandalism, and Stephenson says they have been "hustling" to keep the doors open ever since.

But she doesn’t think they will be able to survive another similarly destructive incident and she can’t shake the suspicion that whoever is responsible is singling out her business. Theft doesn’t appear to be the motive and deploying the smoke bomb seemed like more than just petty, random vandalism.

Stephenson has no idea why her business would be targeted but also says she has no plans of shutting down.

"We're not going to go anywhere, but it's terrifying," she said.

The incidents at the store have been reported to police but no one has been arrested or charged, according to Stephenson, who says she would like investigators to look into whether there are any connections between the incidents.