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Victoria police have arrested a man that allegedly attacked a van with a woman and dog inside.
Police were called to the 500-block of Pembroke Street just after 8 p.m. after a report that a man smashed the driver’s side window of a van with a hammer.
The incident began when the suspect was heard screaming on the street and began smashing the windows of a parked vehicle behind the victim’s van, according to police.
The victim, Rebecca Ellis, was inside the van with her dog Camper when it all unfolded. Before she could get away, the suspect began smashing her windows.
“I jumped in my driver’s seat and I turned my vehicle on to drive away and right when I turned it on he smashed my back driver side rear window,” Ellis said. “I had it in drive and was going to drive away and then he smashed the window right beside my driver’s seat.”
With the van still in drive, Ellis and Camper quickly jumped out, causing the vehicle to roll into her partner’s vehicle parked directly in front.
“Our dog Camper ran all the way down Store Street, apparently past Parliament from what I’ve been told, and has been missing ever since,” said Ellis.
VicPD located the suspect near the intersection of Pembroke and Government streets and arrested him.
The 40-year-old Edmonton man is facing recommended charges of assault with a weapon and mischief. He was released later under conditions with a court date, according to police.
Ellis, a travel nurse who moved to Vancouver Island in 2019 to work for Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) says she has felt safe in Victoria up until the incident. But until Camper is found, she says nothing else matters.
“My biggest concern isn’t my van, it’s that Camper comes home,” Ellis said.
Camper is a brown, two-year-old female pit bull mix, who weighs roughly 40 pounds and wears a pink collar. Ellis is asking anyone who finds her to call the number on her tag.
On Sunday, police asked residents in James Bay to check their yards and other spaces where Camper may have bedded down.
Please continue to keep a lookout for Camper, missing after a violent incident on Friday night.
James Bay folks – please check your yards & spaces where she may have bedded down. Let’s bring her home safe. #yyj https://t.co/WSSnLKU7Y1
— Victoria Police (@vicpdcanada) June 13, 2021
Ellis is also offering a $500 reward for her dog’s safe return home with no questions asked.
VicPD is also asking if anyone knows the whereabouts of Camper or has more details of the incident to call their Report Desk at (250) 995-7654, ext. 1 or to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
CHEK News
Ben Nesbit
