VANCOUVER -- The glass windows at the campaign office of BC Liberal candidate Dave Hans have been smashed in, which he says follows threats to his campaign team and family.

Hans, the candidate for Surrey-Guildford, says that since announcing his candidacy, he has been inundated with threats. He sees the vandalism as an escalation of those threats.

“They’ve been threatening us for life and kids and everything. And they're sending vulgar messages to my family at home, finding them on social media,” he said.

Hans, is also embroiled in a lawsuit over a property deal that fell apart three years ago, and has denied allegations of forgery. 

Speaking to CTV News Vancouver on Saturday morning, Hans said his team learned of the destruction around 9 a.m. when the campaign manager went to open up the office.

“The glass is shattered at my office,” he said.

The attacker “can break (the) glass of my office, but they cannot break my confidence,” he added.

Photos submitted to CTV News Vancouver show the glass front door of his Surrey campaign office smashed in, with a paving stone lying on the ground near the damage. Another window at the office was also smashed.

Surrey RCMP confirm that they are investigating the vandalism.  

The Surrey-Guildford riding is fairly new, having only been created in 2015. The first time it was part of an election was in 2017, during which the riding went to the BC NDP’s Garry Begg.

Hans said he interprets the vandalism as a scare tactic, but said he won’t be scared away from his run for office.

“I'm a young professional and I am here to fight. This is the change we want to bring in this society,” Hans said.

“This election is not about the power grabs, this is about making a change and bringing a change and being part of this change,” he continued.

Hans, who is South Asian, said he doesn’t interpret the attack as racist.

“I don't think it’s a racial attack, I think it’s an attack on a young professional. They don't want any educated person, a professional engineer like me, to come forward and bring the change in society. It's a dirty, dirty politics,” he said.