SQUAMISH,
B.C. - Attacks against Americans have put a small
British Columbia town on the hot seat. There have been
recent attacks against climbers, skiers, and hockey fans
-- all from Washington. Now the town of Squamish is
fighting back, looking for solutions.
"What is going on?" asks one angry woman at
a Squamish town meeting on youth violence. "They're
in packs when I get off work at 12 o'clock at night,
with skateboards, ripping out trees and destroying
everything."
Others in the crowd of about 80 nod their heads and
begin telling their own stories of vandalism and
mischief.
Squamish, B.C. is a town with a problem of bored and
restless teens turning to vandalism and violence.
"When I came in here tonight," says one
local, "there was a whole whack-full of kids down
at the Chevron. They're down there every night, you
think they're there gettin' gas? They're all waiting for
their dealers to pull in!"
When a gang of Squamish teens attacked three
Washington state climbers in early July, the local
problem became international. And KOMO 4 News heard from
other Washington residents, also attacked by Canadians.
"And I was just pleading for him, 'Leave us
alone. You've killed my brother, what do you people
want?' " says Brad Meyer. He and his brothers were
attacked during a ski vacation in Whistler, B.C.
Another report comes from a hockey game in Kelowna.
They all felt targeted because they're Americans.
Ephrata climber Jeremy Dahl describes the gang of teens
who attacked him four weeks ago, "On their way down
they start yelling, 'Let's get those (expletive)
Americans, the (expletive) Yankees.' Then you hear one
of 'em say, 'Let's show 'em what a gang-bang feels
like.' "
Shoreline skier Brad Meyer reports what the teens in
Whistler said, "They chanted over and over, 'don't
bleep bleep with the locals, don't bleep bleep with the
locals'."
But Squamish leaders believe the problem is bored
teens, not bigotry.
"This is not about American versus Canada,"
says Mayor Ian Sutherland. "It's not
anti-Americanism, it was some people got drunk and did a
really stupid thing."
Even worse, the American victims believe the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police ignore them and are slow to make
arrests.
"The bottom line is, someone was nearly killed
in a mob mentality and that's not something you take
lightly," Brad Meyer said.
But the RCMP says that couldn't be further from the
truth. "We treat every case with the same effort,
the same amount of professionalism," says RCMP
spokesman Cpl. Pierre LeMaitre. "So I don't see why
people would get that impression."
Teens say the problem is adults.
"Adults never come up and address us, they never
say, 'Oh you're hindering us could you please move?'
It's always 'get off my property' you always treat us
with a negative attitude," one said.
Squamish mirrors the problems of many communities.
Teens complain there's nothing to do there and parents
want action. But Squamish is ahead of the game, because
the people here admit they have a problem and are
looking for solutions.
Now that Vancouver, B.C. has won the 2010 winter
Olympics games, residents and police will be increasing
pressure to ensure the area is safe for visitors.
