The staff at a Langley auto dealership were alarmed Thursday when a man attacked cars in their lot with a tire iron while screaming that someone owed him an iPad.
“As a small business in Langley, we have been extremely worried about the level of violence that is going on in this city, however, this was different,” said Brian Kokten, sales manager at Robco on Fraser Highway. “This was random and unprovoked.”
The incident began when the staff noticed a man in a grey sedan in their parking lot on Thursday morning.
“It was clear he was not well,” said Kokten.
Staff went up to the car window and asked if the man was okay. He said something about his foot hurting. Staff were worried he appeared intoxicated while behind the wheel, and they called the non-emergency RCMP line.
While they were on the phone, the man got out of his car and approached the dealership office, agitated and yelling about an iPad.
One staff member caught part of the incident on video. Staff locked the doors after the man tried to get in.
He went back to the sedan and got a tire iron, and used it to attack a car in the parking lot.
“Where’s my f***ing iPad, b***h?” the man yelled at staff when told to back away from the cars. “iPad, now!”
After hitting the car a few times, he drove off.
Kokten has no idea why the man was yelling about iPads.
“We don’t sell iPads, we sell cars,” he said.
In fact, Robco mostly deals in exports, and only rarely sells cars to retail customers.
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They hadn’t been doing any kind of iPad giveaway – the only connection might have been an iPad that was visible on a desk in the office.
This isn’t the first time staff have found people who were intoxicated or apparently passed out on the property, but this incident was different, Kokten said.
“There’s usually no violence, and no driving around.”
The Langley RCMP has opened a file and is actively investigating, said Cpl. Craig van Herk, a spokesperson for the Langley RCMP.
The man with the tire iron definitely isn’t the car’s registered owner – it’s owned by a woman – so officers are trying to locate the vehicle and identify the driver.
“Thankfully, nobody was actually physically injured,” van Herk said.
Anyone with information can call the Langley RCMP at 604-532-3200.
Have a story tip? Email: matthew.claxton@langleyadvancetimes.com
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