Residents of a neighbourhood in Ottawa’s southwest end are expressing serious concerns after incidents involving teenagers smashing doors and damaging homes, including one that was caught on camera last week. According to doorbell camera footage from a home posted to social media and shared with CTV News by Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Sean Devine, a swarm of youth are seen running and shouting down Argue Drive. The video shows one person walking up to the front door and smashing it with a loud kick before running off. Residents say the incident happened at around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. “This is so beyond unacceptable, and what are these kids’ parents going to do about it?” Devine said in a Facebook post. Many neighbours who spoke to CTV News on Sunday were afraid of retaliation and did not wish to identify themselves but say it’s not the first time they’ve seen the behaviour. “My sense of security has been threatened,” said one neighbour. She adds she has even considered moving over similar incidents, including vehicle theft and vandalism. “I’ve been here, over 20 years, probably 27 years now and it’s never seemed this unsafe,” she said. “New people to the neighborhood, and people have been here awhile, are questioning ownership in this neighborhood, including myself.” Another resident said his family’s front door was smashed while no one was home. It’s the second time they’ve had to replace the door after it was dented in a similar way. “At the end of the day, it’s a neighborhood and people work hard for what they build,” he said. Several posts on social media and the platform TikTok show a similar trend of other teenagers kicking doors. Devine says he has reported the incidents to Ottawa police and staff of the nearby high school to see if any students could be identified. The Ottawa Police Service did not respond to a CTV News request for comment before deadline. Devine is asking others who may have doorbell camera footage or videos to send it to his office or to police. “I’ve also got a message to these kids, what the heck do you think you’re doing? This is completely inappropriate,” he told CTV News. “I hope that some parents are looking at that video and trying to say, I think that’s my kid and do something about it.”
