Vandalism hits Fort St. John clothing store with Pride flag

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – A clothing store in Fort St. John had a window smashed in with some type of projectile in the afternoon of Sunday, June 9th. 

Ashley Large, the owner of Crooked Corner Clothing, believes the damage came from a pellet gun, shattering the tempered glass window. 

This assumption is based on the pattern of the broken glass and the numerous other shots chipped from other windows around the store that have been occurring since the beginning of June. 

“We’ve got four on [101st Avenue facing] in the one window, and we’ve even got a little hole beneath our pride flag on the other side [100th Street facing], which started about a week and a half ago,” Large said. 

Large has been noticing shots causing damage to other windows but says at least two shots facing 100th Street, including the one that shattered the window, have been done since the store hung a pride flag in the window. 

Two years ago, a different window in the store was kicked in, and on another occasion, a pride sticker placed on the store’s front door was torn off. 

Large has contacted businesses in the area for any security footage of the incident and hopes to learn more about it. 

None of the cameras in the store captured the incident, and there are no suspicions about the individuals who could be responsible, so there are no leads on the incident’s motivations. 

Large explains he does not want to assume the incident was fueled by the presence of the pride flag.

“I hope that it’s not, just for the sake of the community, and my hometown,” Large said. 

Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to reach out to Crooked Corner Clothing.