Police searching for memorial skatepark vandals
Posted January 29, 2014 11:49 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Police are asking for the public’s help to identify two men believed to be responsible for the January 21st arson at the Leeside Skatepark.
At about 9:00 p.m., two men walked into the Leeside Tunnel and deliberately set fire to a collection of tires, ramps and construction material.
The tunnel suffered significant damage as a result of the blaze.
Matasi was a Vancouver artist and skateboarder who was gunned down outside a Vancouver nightclub on December 3rd, 2005.
One of the men is believed to be white, around 30-years-old, with a medium build and short, cropped hair.
He was wearing a dark, varsity-style jacket with brown sleeves, dark pants and runners, and may have been carrying a pair of work boots.
Vancouver Park Board staff are meeting tonight to discuss what to do about the skateboard.
Commissioner Sarah Blyth says this initial meeting is to determine the extent of damage.
“We will likely just be discussing the damages and any information that anyone has about where Leeside is at in terms of what we need to do next to get it back for folks to use.”
Donations of wood and money are already coming in for the rebuilding.
Anyone with information about this fire, or who knows the identity of these men, to contact the Vancouver Police Department at (604) 717-2541 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
