Charges are pending against a 34-year-old woman after Yellowknife residents found petunias ripped from their pots and scattered across the Franklin Avenue sidewalk.
Police said they received a report of alleged vandalism to the planters on Thursday evening just after 11pm. The damage remained evident to people heading to work in downtown Yellowknife early on Friday.
“A 34-year-old woman was arrested and charges are pending,” RCMP said later on Friday morning. The woman was not named.
The flowers, slippery from the rain, were cleaned up by 8am. The damage ran from the Scotia Centre to RBC Royal Bank.
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A disappointed puppy surveys damage to petunias in front of the Scotia Centre. Sarah Pruys/Cabin Radio
“The landlords try so hard to make these buildings look nice. It’s sad, because the flowers were looking their best this week with the weather we’ve had,” said Dr Hassan Adam, whose elaborate nearby flower display – at his Franklin Avenue dental clinic – escaped damage.
Adam put in cameras at his building years ago in an effort to curb vandalism to his seasonal displays. Those cameras were unable to capture footage of this incident.
“I know flowers can grow back, but it’s such a shame to destroy something so beautiful,” he said.
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Yanik D’Aigle, RBC Royal Bank’s community manager, got a heads-up about the damage from Adam at 6:30am.
“It’s unfortunate somebody did this, but it was easily cleaned up,” he said.
One of the planters has no blooms left, and D’Aigle plans to consult the facilities manager about what to do. As it’s so late in the season, they may not bother replanting.
Flowers lining Franklin Avenue lay strewn across the sidewalk on July 26 following an act of vandalism. Sarah Pruys/Cabin Radio
Petunias lay scattered in front of RBC Royal Bank on Friday morning. Sarah Pruys/Cabin Radio
