Video shows suspects smashing Olympic cauldron in downtown Vancouver
Authorities have released video of two suspects vandalizing part of the Olympic cauldron in downtown Vancouver over the weekend – an act police have described as "planned and deliberate."
The 51-second video shows the unidentified suspects approaching the cauldron in Jack Poole Plaza early Saturday morning, pulling out some kind of tool and smashing the tempered glass covering one of the pillars.
One of the suspects appears to be recording the vandalism on a cellphone or camera.
“The video of the two suspects destroying a piece of Vancouver Olympic history is maddening, " Const. Jason Doucette of the Vancouver Police Department said in a statement.
"These two will likely use the video for some sort of bragging rights, and when they do, we hope their friends will do the right thing and call police."
Authorities said the suspects spent about 12 minutes in the plaza at around 3:30 a.m., and briefly approached the cauldron before leaving the area. They returned approximately 30 minutes later to smash the glass, causing thousands of dollars in damage.
There are hundreds of glass panels covering the cauldron, each custom made by Studio 3 Glass in Port Coquitlam. Owner Nasar Niki confirmed his business will be replacing six shattered panels.
Speaking to CTV News on Monday, Niki said the vandalism had left him emotional.
"To be honest with you, it's breaking my heart," he said. "Sometimes I talk with my friends and say the cauldron is like my baby."
Niki said replicating the distinctive look of the glass will take some time, but that he's determined to make the repair look seamless.
Vancouver police asked anyone with information on the vandalism to contact the department or Crime Stoppers.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Shannon Paterson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.