Teens charged after Pride walkway damaged in Tillsonburg: OPP
Two teens face mischief charges after a Pride-styled boardwalk in a Southwestern Ontario town was vandalized, police say.
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Two teens face mischief charges after a Pride-styled boardwalk in a Southwestern Ontario town was vandalized, police say.
Ontario Provincial Police’s Oxford detachment was notified around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday that a “business” on Bridge Street in Tillsonburg with a rainbow-coloured boardwalk symbolizing LGBTQ inclusivity had been damaged.
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According to police, two individuals were seen on camera on July 6 at about 9:45 p.m. “performing a burn out” with an electric scooter, causing damage to the boardwalk.
As a result, two 16-year-olds from Tillsonburg have been arrested and face mischief charges, police said.
Crawford delivered a stern message: “Mischief and vandalism is not tolerated anywhere in our community.”
“Regardless of the motives, regardless of the intentions, regardless of the age of the person doing these acts, you are going to be arrested and you are going to be charged and you’re going to be held accountable,” she added.
While the teens face charges, Crawford said the investigation is ongoing, noting previous vandalism at the arts centre.
Sunday’s defacement of the Station Arts Centre’s rainbow boardwalk marks the third time it’s been targeted in about a year.
In 2024, the Pride boardwalk at the Bridge Street non-profit was vandalized twice in two weeks under very similar circumstances.
On June 9, 2024, a person riding a red-and-white dirt bike used its rear tires to deface the wood and paint. Another incident on May 27 also involved a rider on a red-and-white dirt bike.
An intersection near the arts centre also had been vandalized multiple times a year earlier.
In 2023, a rainbow crosswalk at Broad and Bridge Street was removed after being targeted by vandals four times.
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