West Shore police are looking for more information and a suspect after two teenage girls reported a suspicious incident at a bus stop in View Royal.
On Nov. 1 at approximately 6:20 p.m., the two teenagers were waiting at a bus stop on Craigflower Road near Aral Road in View Royal when a man, who was also waiting for the bus, began rifling through his backpack, according to a statement from West Shore RCMP. The man then pulled out a red ski mask, donned it, and pulled out a small pocket knife.
The girls, aged 13 and 14, ran away. When one looked back, she saw the man had followed them for a short distance, and yelled out “come back.”
When the teenagers looked back a second time, the man was gone.
“We do not know what the intentions of this suspect was but this is certainly concerning and suspicious behaviour. We are asking the male suspect to come forward and speak to police. If you were in the area at the time and were witness to this incident or have dash camera footage relating to this event please contact us,” Cpl. Nancy Saggar, West Shore RCMP media relations officer, said in the statement.
The suspect is described as an Indigenous man, about 5’10” with a medium build and a chubby face. He was wearing light blue baggy pants, a belt with a sparkling diamond belt buckle, high-top red and green Jordan shoes, a black hoodie and a black backpack.
The incident was reported to police on Nov. 2. Police also received a report of a robbery in progress on that day, involving two different teens.
In that case, officers were called to the 3000-block of Langford Lake Road, near the vicinity of Belmont Secondary School. It was reported to police that a 15-year-old was assaulted by another teenager during the attempted theft of an e-cigarette (vape).
“West Shore RCMP has been experiencing an increase in calls related to youth violence in the last month. A challenge in these investigations has been getting witnesses and victims to provide their information or to report these crimes immediately. The level of violence is concerning, and we are asking the public to report suspicious activity involving youth right away. We are engaged with several community partners providing youth services to both the victims and the suspects as well as their families,” said Saggar in a separate statement.
The West Shore RCMP can be reached at 250-474-2264.
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