Reckless vandals tear up Rutland, thousands in damages

Warning: Graphic Content.

A reckless crew of youths ravaged the Rutland area on Saturday and Samantha Stephanie says vandalism is becoming a serial occurrence.

Stephanie woke up Saturday morning at 5:30 a.m., to her above ground pool shredded with eight slashes through the canvas and her entire neighbourhood feeling the effects of vandals.

“[I] woke up to tons of damage to our homes, personal property and vehicles this morning . . . my neighbours had their car windows smashed out and vehicles spray painted with [phallic symbols representing the] male anatomy and racial slurs,” explained Stephanie.

The vandalism on Saturday was preceded by an attack on the Rutland Sports Field bathrooms in late June.

"These people just come along and destroy things and have no regard for what people work for . . . it's really sad."

KelownaNow reached out to RCMP about the incident, who stated that they had responded to reports of youths causing mischief in the McCurdy Rd. and Keyes Rd. area in Rutland on Saturday at 2 a.m.

“Police believe the group was responsible for a variety of criminal acts which included, spray paint graffiti to public roadways, motor vehicles and other personal property, as well as smashed windows and dents caused to at least five motor vehicles in the general area,” reported RCMP.

The Police patrolled the area but were unable to locate the individuals responsible for the thousands of dollars in damages.

Stephanie and the RCMP are hoping that the community can join together to stop the vandalism.

RCMP is urging residents to review home video surveillance footage and contact police if they have images of the vandals which may assist in the identification of the individuals and call the Kelowna RCMP with any information regarding the youths at 250-762-3300 and cite police file number 2018-38782.