Thieves attempted to rob a Richmond home by using a pick-up truck as a battering ram.
Richmond resident Rhea Se and her family were sleeping on the second floor of their detached home near Francis and No. 3 roads last Thursday when she heard a “loud crashing” noise, which she originally thought was an awful nightmare.
That is, until she heard it a second time.
“I knew the second time I heard the noise that I wasn’t asleep and so I got up and went downstairs to the first floor and I saw a huge black pick-up truck right against my front door,” said Se.
“I was confused at first and turned on all the lights in the house and outside and the truck then sped away.”
While Se’s home has a front gate to her driveway that is normally closed, she said the gate was left open overnight because it would occasionally not work properly.
But she said she would have made it a priority to fix if she knew other neighbours also experienced recent break and enters.
Se told the Richmond News that the truck had damaged the frame and the bottom portion on one side of her double French doors that were made of maple wood.
“The security camera showed the truck slowly backing up against the door and then they hit the accelerator in an attempt to create maximum force with minimum sound,” she added.
The Richmond resident is now in the process of forming a Block Watch Program, in a bid to minimize a repeat of last week’s brazen crime.
Se said never in her 13 years of living in Richmond did she expect something like this to happen and the incident made her realize that she never really reached out to her neighbours.
That’s why she sent letters to 100 homes about starting a Block Watch, with everyone replying with positive comments.
“Despite the scare, it’s wonderful to know that in the past 24 hours 20 people have talked to me and (are) coming to my house to look at the damage done or they are calling or emailing me,” said Se, adding that many people agreed with forming a block watch group.
“This is a reality where it’s not about me trying to live in my own little bubble anymore and breaking out of my shell to reach out to my neighbours so we, as a group, can protect each other and look out for one another.”
The News has reached out to the Richmond RCMP for more information.
