Concern is mounting in Duncan after multiple reports of windows being shot out of occupied cars in the downtown area.
A Duncan man was sitting in his parked car in front of Hanks Handimart around 4:30 p.m. on July 7 when the back driver’s side window was shot at.
The force shattered the safety glass on the vehicle and though no projectile was found, the man has been told that from the window, it looks to have been a pellet gun.
“My husband wasn’t even able to connect with an officer in person, as they didn’t have the time,” said his wife, “Susan”, who asked their names be withheld for safety reasons.
She had taken to Facebook to warn others of the incident involving her husband but has since deleted her public post.
“We’re very grateful he didn’t have our daughter or any passengers in the rear of the car,” she said. “[The RCMP] took his statement via phone and linked an email to send our pictures too. My husband feels he possibly saw whom did it and their location at the time. He was frustrated no one was available to come down.”
RCMP Island District Communications spokesperson Cpl. Alex Bérubé confirmed the RCMP is investigating the incident “however I don’t have any further information to share at this time,” he said in an email.
This is not the first time a vehicle window has been shot in the downtown Duncan area in recent history.
On April 27, 2021 a woman who asked to use only her first name, Christy, was in the same spot as the man in the most recent case was when the same thing happened to her.
“The exact same spot,” she said. “I was at the stop sign at Hank’s turning onto Canada Avenue. I called the RCMP but they didn’t even come. They said there was nothing they could do. It was so scary.”
Again, it was the back window, but this time on the passenger side.
“My oldest son was sitting in the front passenger seat,” Christy said. “He was lucky it didn’t hit his window.”
More recently, Scott Lewis said his vehicle’s window was shot out on April 20 of this year.
“I had the exact same kind of thing happen to me eating dinner in the parking lot at Lee’s Chicken. All of a sudden my passenger side window just blows out,” he confirmed. “I really was shocked when it happened. It was just so random and surprising. I think my jaw was on the floor.”
Lewis informed the police but said, to his knowledge, nothing ever came of it.
Bérubé later confirmed there’d been multiple incidents.
“I reached out to the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP detachment and was advised that they have received several similar incidents involving a pellet gun in the past year in which the detachment criminal analyst is monitoring,” Bérubé said.
Meanwhile, the victims are wondering what action, if anything, will be taken to prevent future incidents.
“It’s just unsettling to leave it,” Susan said.
RELATED: Shots fired at parked car, SUV speeds away from scene in Nanaimo
sarah.simpson@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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