Winnipeg, Manitoba — Citizens of Manitoba are once again safe from having their car windows smashed by a random stranger–police have charged a 22-year-old man with 130 charges of mischief to property following the damage of vehicles across Winnipeg’s west end.
Police said they’ve received dozens of similar reports regarding damaged vehicles in Winnipeg, mostly in the west end. Rows of cars parked along roadsides had their windows smashed in, they said.
Another string of damage was reported last Sunday and authorities were able to locate a suspect with the help of a police helicopter.
The man had used “some type of implement to smash out the windows from the vehicle,” Const. Dani McKinnon said.
Police believe the man acted alone and had no connection to any of the affected vehicle owners.
Posts regarding the string of incidents started popping up in Facebook groups last week. One man said his neighbour told him his car window had been smashed around 11:30 p.m. last Saturday; when he went outside to check his vehicle, he said more than 30 neighbours were also outside checking their cars for damages.
He estimates about 60 people were affected that night alone.
“When I talked to [police], they said I was about the 50th person to call,” the man told the CBC.
Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) received 130 vandalism claims on Jan. 31, it said. The day prior there was only one vandalism-related claim.
On Feb. 3, MPI had received 178 claims, reported the CBC.
