When Radwan Matar went to drive his car out of the garage on Thursday morning in Bayside, one of his roommates told him that the garage door of their residence had been spraypainted. The spray paint on the garage door contained a racial slur. 

"Then when he was getting ready to leave, he found the whole front part of my vehicle [was] covered [in spray paint]," said Jade Elisabeth, Matar's other roommate. 

Though Radwan has lived in Airdrie for several years, Elisabeth has only been in the city for a little over a month. Elisabeth said the experience has left her with a very sour taste in her mouth.

"I was definitely upset and angry because I don't know anybody from here, really. [I have only] just been living here for such a short time," she added. "[There's] a couple of thousand dollars [worth of damage to my car.] It's on my bumper, my headlights, my windshield. It's on and in my grill and it's on the sides of my vehicle and on my fenders." 

Because she has no other mode of transportation, Elisabeth said that she will have to continue using her car as she has no other way of getting around.

Matar said he suspects the incident took place late in the evening on Wednesday, June 7, as he recalls he heard a very loud thud as he was going to bed.

"I didn't know whether it came from inside or outside, but it sounded like something just crashed to the floor. I have a cat so I went downstairs to check if it had knocked something over there and nothing was out of place," Matar said. " I didn't think to look outside because I mean who is just going to walk up and bang something on the side of the house?"

When asked if they had installed security cameras, he said that although he thought it may have been a good investment, he said that it was something he could budget for. 

"I always thought Bayside was a safer neighbourhood where stuff like this didn't really happen. But, yes stuff like this happens to the people who don't expect it." 

Police confirmed that a report was filed on Thursday morning and an investigation is underway. Public Information Officer for the RCMP, Cpl. Troy Savinkoff, underlined that it is too early in the investigation to determine whether this act of vandalism could be considered a hate crime. He underlined that that determination can only be made once an arrest is made and the motivations behind the incident are examined. 

According to the RCMP, a hate crime is defined as, a "...Criminal offence committed against a person or property, the motive for which is based in whole or in part upon the victim's race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, gender, disability or sexual orientation."

The act of vandalism, such as graffiti falls under the Criminal Code as Mischief. Mischief can be under $5,000 or over $5,000. Statistics that were presented by the Airdrie RCMP in March 2023 during a Municipal Advisory Board meeting, provide a snapshot of the past several years of what the trend looks like.

Statistics provided during a Municipal Advisory Board Meeting in March 2023 show mischief trends and statistics in Airdrie. (Graphic provided by Airdrie RCMP)Statistics provided during a Municipal Advisory Board Meeting in March 2023 show mischief trends and statistics in Airdrie. (Graphic provided by Airdrie RCMP)

Previously, Cpl. James McConnell of the Airdrie RCMP Community Policing Unit stated that between January and April 2023, there have been 160 reports of mischief. 

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