The walls of a commercial building in Langley were vandalized with threatening messages and graffiti earlier this week.
The incident occurred at 20437 Fraser Hwy, which used to house multiple businesses like Samba Sushi and Kooben Cafe. The building has reportedly been bought by a developer and the businesses have been shut down since then.
On the morning of Feb. 21, the walls were repainted, but nearby business owners were surprised to read the threatening messages. One of the owners expressed concern over the increasing homelessness problem in the area and said that there are “too many people sitting around on the streets when it gets dark.”
The messages, which are unclear as to whom they are directed at, read, “when will we purge ourselves of these parasites,” “house of thieves,” “time to kill,” “time to purge our city of thieves,” and “kill thieves.”
Teri James, city councillor and executive director at Downtown Langley Business Association (DLBA) said she was “disappointed” when she heard the news about the vandalism.
According to James, the property manager was called as soon as the problem was bought to the City’s attention. Although James believes that incidents like these are rare, she said “In my 21 years of experience, Langley City does a great job of notifying property owners when something like this happens and then they follow through to ensure the graffiti is taken care of in a timely fashion.”
She also believes that the abandoned building may continue to be targeted “due to its size and location.”
“In my opinion the property owner really should consider taking it down sooner rather than later.”
“This incident appeared to be isolated, and if there are other incidents, the DLBA and the City will continue to work together to ensure it is taken care of as quickly as possible,” she concluded.
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