Police are looking for two suspects on bicycles as part of their investigation after a Maple Ridge business was vandalized.
The incident occurred in the early morning hours of Saturday, Sept. 7, in the 11900 block of 224 Street, in the downtown core.
After conducting extensive video canvassing in the area, the Ridge Meadows RCMP Specialized Response Team have confirmed that the persons involved were riding bicycles and retraced a route that the pair took before the incident occurred.
The pair were first spotted in the parking lot of ValleyFair Mall at 3:59 a.m., said police, before they turned north onto 227 Street. Both suspects headed west on Selkirk Avenue, where they were seen travelling through the Walmart parking lot at around 4:05 a.m., just prior to when the vandalism took place.
At 4:32 a.m. police were called to the business where, they said the front window had been smashed. However, the suspects were unable to gain entry.
"Prior to the incident, this business invested in smash-proof window file for their window, which prevented the suspect from gaining entry," explained Const. Tisha Parsons, with the Ridge Meadows RCMP detachment.
Taryn Stephenson Thoews, who co-owns T's Once Upon A Tea Leaf on 224 Street with her mother, Cindy-Lea Stephenson, said she was alerted to a person with a hammer outside the store at 4 a.m. the same morning.
The person tried to smash the front door and the storefront window with an object, but was unsuccessful because of a special film they installed on the glass. said Thoews.
Thoews posted a video online which shows a person, who looked to be dressed all in black with a mask over the lower portion of their face, approach the front door of the business around a corner first before returning from out of sight to attempt to break the front window with the object.
The person repeatedly hammers the front window with the object and pushes, then kicks at the window as well, which shatters, but doesn't break.
Police describe one suspect who was riding a bicycle as wearing light coloured shorts and a dark shirt. The other suspect was riding a BMX-style bicycle, wearing black pants, a black long-sleeved shirt, and wearing a backpack.
They are still seeking witnesses, and video surveillance in the area.
"If you are a local business within the route mentioned, police are asking that you review your video surveillance and if it shows the two persons on bicycles riding tandem, please contact the Ridge Meadows RCMP directly at 604-463-6251 and refer to File 2024-18152," appealed Parsons.
