Metro Vancouver moms concerned about group of youths assaulting people at random
Warning: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing.
A group of parents afraid for their children’s safety—and their own—has banded together to find ways to stop random violence.
A Port Coquitlam mother, whom CTV News is calling Beth, said her preteen daughter was swarmed and brutally beaten. Since the incidents involved youths, CTV News cannot identify the parent.
“(They) savagely gang beat her really, really badly. They pulled out chunks of her hair. Her ears looked like boxer ears. They broke all her fake nails off one hand. Yeah, she was covered in blood, super bruised and beaten and obviously upset,” Beth said.
She’s able to describe what happened because she saw the assault on video.
The incident happened in late June at Port Coquitlam’s Lions Park.
“It’s not just about a victim. It's about this being a problem in our community that's happening to people all over the place for a multitude of different reasons,” Beth said.
Another mother, whom CTV News is calling Denise, said her son was jumped while he was fishing at the Coquitlam River at the same park.
She said her son called her for help and she was able to get to the scene relatively quickly, where she confronted the youths.
Since she saw the youths who targeted her son, she was shocked when she saw the same youths appear in videos assaulting Beth’s daughter.
“You can imagine my dismay when I found out a year later, that at the same park, the same youths had lured and viciously beat another youth in our community. I was devastated,” Denise said.
From their conversations with other parents, they believe it is the same group of youths carrying out these random attacks.
“I think they're doing it partly for notoriety. They're filming it and putting it on social media. I think they're aspiring to be gangsters. They think it's cool. They think it's going to make them friends and be 'internet famous,'” Beth said.
MORE THAN A THOUSAND SIGNATURES GARNERED
Several parents got together and started Tri-Cities Safe Streets in an effort to make their communities safer.
They’ve started a petition, which has now garnered more than a thousand signatures.
The petition outlines steps local government, school districts and police can take, including increasing police presence, adding emergency phones, expanding education programs to deter youth from gang initiation, focusing on youth outreach and mentorship, and enhancing surveillance.
“So, we're not looking to punish them. We're looking to help them change for the better so they can be successful members of society and not have to fall back to these patterns that are hurting people all over the place,” Beth said.
CTV News has reached out to the three Tri-Cities mayors and Coquitlam RCMP. Many did not respond in time for deadline and one mayor was away.
Tri-Cities Safe Streets hopes their requests will not be ignored.
“It's only a matter of time before somebody becomes disabled or is killed through this happening and it needs to be taken seriously,” Beth said.
They are hoping for a meeting with the three mayors soon.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Biden gives life in prison to 37 of 40 federal death row inmates so Trump can't have them executed
U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Monday that he is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before president-elect Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office.
Weather advisories issued for GTA, areas north of Toronto ahead of 'significant' snowfall
Holiday travellers and commuters could be in for a messy drive on Monday morning as a significant round of snowfall moves into the region.
Nissan, Honda announce plans to merge, creating world's No. 3 automaker
Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan have announced plans to work toward a merger, forming the world's third-largest automaker by sales as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels.
Trump suggests the U.S. should take back the Panama Canal. Could they do that?
Donald Trump suggested Sunday that his new administration could try to regain control of the Panama Canal that the United States 'foolishly' ceded to its Central American ally, contending that shippers are charged 'ridiculous' fees to pass through the vital transportation channel linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Man handed 5th distracted driving charge for using cellphone on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa
An Ottawa driver was charged for using a cellphone behind the wheel on Sunday, the fifth time he has faced distracted driving charges.
Wrongfully convicted N.B. man has mixed feelings since exoneration
Robert Mailman, 76, was exonerated on Jan. 4 of a 1983 murder for which he and his friend Walter Gillespie served lengthy prison terms.
opinion Christmas movies for people who don't like Christmas movies
The holidays can bring up a whole gamut of emotions, not just love and goodwill. So CTV film critic Richard Crouse offers up a list of Christmas movies for people who might not enjoy traditional Christmas movies.
What's open and closed over the holidays in Canada
As Canadians take time off to celebrate the holidays, many federal offices, stores and businesses will be closed across the country on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
The rent-a-friend industry is booming among Canada's Chinese diaspora
Dozens of people are offering rent-a-friend services on Xiaohongshu, a social media platform also known as Little Red Book or China's Instagram, in cities including Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.