Vandals may have taken away Donna Mendowegan's chance to say goodbye to a member of her community.
Originally from Ginoogaming, the mother of two woke up Tuesday morning ready to drive back to the First Nation community near Geraldton to mourn the loss of councillor Gabriel Echum, who died Monday.
When she got to the parking lot, Mendowegan noticed that all four of her tires had been slashed along with the tires on her neighbours' vehicles.
"It looks like we're not going to be leaving," Mendowegan said on the verge of tears Tuesday morning.
But she and her children will be leaving the Limbrick neighbourhood as soon as possible.
Mendowegan said the tire slashing, which involved at least a dozen vehicles, is the last straw in a long line of substance abuse, violence and vandalism she and her family have witnessed since moving to the area.
"It's been a really bad experience," she said. "It's not safe and I don't feel safe."
While there are cameras in the parking lot, maintenance workers told her that they may not help catch the vandals as the cameras weren't working as of last week.
"Why have cameras if they don't work," Mendowegan said.
As for the tire slashing, Thunder Bay Police Service spokesman Chris Adams said the force started getting calls late Monday night about vehicles having slashed tires from Lillie Street to the Limbrick area.
"Very often this kind of mischief involves youths or young adults looking for something to do unfortunately and taking it out on innocent citizens and causing a lot of harm," Adams said.
Police are asking any members of the public with information to come forward and to keep an eye out for suspicious activity. If any is spotted, people should call police right away Adams said.
"Our officers will be happy to come over and take a look," he said.
