Residents of a midtown neighbourhood in Toronto say they feel unsafe after a string of vehicle break-ins were reported to the police.
Cathy Stamatopoulou woke up Monday morning to find the passenger window of her car smashed in and her belongings in disarray.
“It’s shocking because we’ve been in this area for 40 years and this has never happened,” Stamatopoulou said. “You never think it’s going to happen to you, until it does.”
Toronto police say they’ve received 62 reports of break-ins or thefts from vehicles near Vaughan Road and St. Clair Avenue since Oct. 18.
Residents in the area are now concerned for their safety, saying they are worried about their vehicles being broken into.
“Everything was thrown about, rummaged through,” Elizabeth Bristow, whose vehicle was broken into two weeks ago, told CTV News Toronto. “They stole an old pair of prescription sunglasses, my GPS, which I found thrown down the street.”
“I feel like a victim. I feel unsafe,” she said. “I’ve already gotten a quote to start building a carport or something so it protects my car.”
Josh Matlow, the city councillor for the area, tweeted about the incident Monday morning, saying that he is “very concerned” about the car break-ins. He told CTV News Toronto later that afternoon that the sheer number of break-ins is concerning.
“Maybe one time or another time, sure. But if there are potentially over 60 cars that have been smashed in in this neighbourhood, people have reason to be concerned. And all they want to know is that police are taking it seriously,” Matlow told CTV News Toronto.
Matlow said on social media that he would be attending 13 Division community police liaison committee at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the issue with authorities.
With files from CTV News Toronto's Tracy Tong
