Stabbing rattles Richmond Row businesses: 'Zero safety in London'
The stabbing of an employee at a Richmond Row restaurant has raised safety concerns among nearby business owners
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The afternoon stabbing of an employee at a Richmond Row restaurant has raised safety concerns among nearby business owners and workers, who say police response can be slow to non-existent while problems of vandalism, theft and threatening behaviour persist.
A manager at Joe Kool’s at 595 Richmond St., who was critically injured after being stabbed behind the restaurant on Monday, is in fair condition but remains in hospital, another employee told The Free Press Friday.
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“He’s just very, very sore,” said the employee, who didn’t want to be identified.
The manager was stabbed after he asked a man loitering behind Joe Kool’s to leave at about 3:30 p.m. Monday, London police said.
The area between Dufferin and Central avenues is lined with bars and restaurants, and employees are worried about their safety after Monday’s stabbing.
Afshine Jahangiri, who operates Nomadz Grill N’ Pie at 573 Richmond St, a few doors down from Joe Kool’s, said he received death threats from an individual loitering at the front of his eatery a week ago.
“He was lying down (in front of the store) and I asked him to leave. He was throwing garbage all over my windows,” Jahangiri said. “I told him, ‘Can you please leave?’ And he’s like, ‘Listen, I can kill you. I’ll stab you right now.'”
Jahangiri said he called police while the man remained outside the restaurant for another 40 minutes after threatening him.
“He was sitting out there and no cops showed up, nothing,” he added. “It happens quite a bit. There’s zero safety in London.”
Jahangiri also said that he saw a man throwing rocks at businesses along Richmond Row about a month ago.
“The homeless have gone out of control in the city, and the cops don’t do anything,” he said. “They (police) don’t even show up, no matter how many times I call them. But the foot patrol is good – when I call them, they show up.”
At Fresh and Fast Food Mart, a glass door was broken by an individual throwing stones at businesses on Richmond Row, employee Ujjwal Kaushik said.
“Customers come in and complain about the homeless people” outside the store, he said. The homeless “have nowhere to go, I know, but it’s still creating a problem for everyone.”
Since corner stores began selling liquor, it has “created more problems” for the store, Kaushik said.
“It’s not just the homeless people (stealing), honestly. It’s the regular folks too, and minors. They try to create a mess … I’ve had to call the cops multiple times, but they either don’t show up or they show up really late,” he said. “So, that’s the problem … But the downtown foot patrol, I think those guys are nice. They usually show up within 10 to 15 minutes.”
Kaushik said he’s not scared, but thinks about his safety when he goes home after work and has come up with strategies to protect himself.
“If you’re here (at the store), you really cannot second-guess; you’re at risk,” he said. “If I know somebody is sketchy, or somebody might potentially create a problem, I just try to give them free stuff so that they are just quickly out of the store . . . It might not be a big loss for us, but if we don’t do that, then it would be a problem. Not just for us, people who are in the store as well.”
At Mexican House Restaurant, located at Richmond and Albert streets, owner Miguel Guerreiro said police have come to his restaurant to ask for video footage after another stabbing in the area.
“It’s a big concern, but we haven’t experienced anything,” Guerreiro said.
Ajay Kumar, an employee at Circle K at 595 Richmond St., next to Joe Kool’s and Toboggan Brewing Co., said there’s been a lot of stealing at the store since they started selling liquor.
“I heard about the stabbing through a colleague,” Kumar said. “It’s scary.”
Police said a man had been loitering behind Joe Kool’s on Monday around 3:30 p.m. when a staff member asked him to leave. The man pulled a knife and stabbed the employee, police said.
A witness called 911 and the employee, who had critical injuries, was taken to hospital by paramedics. The man fled on a scooter but later was identified through video surveillance. A suspect was arrested Wednesday morning, police said.
A 33-year-old man is charged with aggravated assault and breach of probation. He remains in custody and was expected to appear in London court on Friday.
When asked about the merchants’ comments about police response, London police Sgt. Sandasha Bough said police would only speak about Monday’s stabbing investigation.
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