An Ottawa business owner is speaking out after two of his stores on Rideau Street were targeted by an alleged thief on the same day, and he questions whether the crime could have been prevented if police had been dispatched. According to Summers Wang, who owns Axia Station and Mergi Shop, a woman walked into Mergi Shop around 12:30 p.m. Sunday and tried to take money from the cash register. There was a brief altercation with an employee before the woman fled with nothing. Wang says he located the same woman nearby and followed her from “a safe distance” for a few hours while updating police about her location. No officer was dispatched, he said. In that incident, nothing was taken and no weapon was used. Around 5:30 p.m. the same day, Wang said the same woman entered Axia Station on Rideau Street and took nearly $500 from the till. Wang said he called police again and believes the theft could have been prevented had police responded while the suspect’s location was known. “Really frustrated because I was kept waiting,” Wang said. “I waited there for two hours. There’s no officer over there and I tried calling non-emergency line…still like I wait for another hours. There’s no officers showing up. So, until on that day I go back home at 9 p.m., there’s an officer call me, says ‘okay, I’m here now and where’s the suspect?’” Ottawa police did not respond to a request for comment by deadline. Wang said he hasn’t noticed a big difference in the area despite an increased police presence.
