A Halloween store has been hit multiple times with break-ins and shoplifting in downtown Chilliwack, and the operators say they may not be able to return next season.
Spirit Halloween returned to Chilliwack toward the end of summer as a pop-up store in the old Blockbuster Video storefront with the plan to open in time for the spooky season.
Unfortunately they were broken into and robbed twice in October so far, says Cheryl Holmes, operator of five Spirit Halloween outlets across B.C.
“We have never seen anything like what what we’re seeing in Chilliwack right now,” Holmes said.
They operate several stores in other B.C. cities struggling with homelessness and addiction but nowhere else is quite as bad.
“We are so done with this.”
They’ve been targeted by several shoplifters trying to steal from them and two staff members were assaulted by two people in the store on Monday (Oct. 16).
They caught suspects that showed up on security camera footage and worked with police investigators after the first incident.
Then it happened again.
The first time the store was hit a couple of weeks ago, thieves smashed in a window, kicked in a wall and helped themselves to product and equipment, Holmes said.
The second time they broke a window, cut through the drywall, and spent time a considerable amount of time hauling stolen property away.
They were in and out of the storefront, stealing stuff for more than two hours at 45850 Yale Rd, seemingly unimpeded by any passing security patrols or RCMP.
RCMP officers have been “great,” Holmes said, about investigating the break-ins. Griffin Security also patrols the area, but they had to hire their own private security to keep up.
But they are so frustrated by these repeated criminal impacts, it’s become apparent to them the cost of the criminality may be ultimately too taxing for small, seasonal businesses like theirs. Now they are thinking long and hard about whether to come back next fall.
