If spotting two people running away from University Heights mall "at breakneck speeds" at 12:45 a.m. wasn't suspicious enough to Saanich police, the fact both runners were wearing balaclavas certainly caught the officer's attention.
The incident happened early Sunday morning.
"They might have fit in better if they were wearing a Halloween mask," Sgt. Dean Jantzen said with a laugh.
Officers witnessed one of the men throw a can of spray paint into some bushes. The two men were quickly detained, on suspicions that they had just tagged the mall.
Fresh graffiti, which matched the paint in the tossed-away aerosol can, was found on a wall at the back of the shopping centre.
A 27-year-old Esquimalt man and a 21-year-old man face mischief-related charges.
kslavin@saanichnews.com