Men dragged Brampton mother by car to steal her son's Air Jordans, police say
CBC
A Brampton mom says she was dragged by a car and seriously injured while trying to help her 12-year-old son sell a pair of high-end sneakers to someone they met on Facebook Marketplace.
Vashtie Doorga posted an online ad to sell a pair of Air Jordans in the recently relaunched "Military Blue" colourway and found an "adamant" customer. The mother and son decided to meet around 7:15 p.m. on June 26 in a residential area near Dixie and Father Tobin roads.
A short time later, Doorga found herself bloodied on a roadway after being dragged by a black Tesla driven by men she didn't know. They had stolen the shoes and left her behind.
"I have a lot of scarring damage and pain that's unbearable. I can't sleep. I can't open a bottle of water myself, I can't wash my hair myself. It burns my body when I have to bathe. I can't drive anymore," Doorga said in tears in an interview with CBC Toronto.
"I'm scared … living in fear."
Police across the Greater Toronto Area have issued warnings to beware of such frauds. Toronto police recently issued a public warning about Marketplace scams, saying the number of complaints related to the platform reported in the city this year crossed the 500 mark by May, with damages totalling over $800,000.
Marketplace scams are the second most reported frauds, according to statistics released by Toronto police in May.
Even Facebook has listed measures for Marketplace users to recognize scams in its "shopping safety" section.
Doorga said her son wanted to help her by starting a shoe resale business because she is a single mother.
To surprise her son with his first pair to sell, Doorga says she lined up outside a Nike store at the Bramalea City Centre and got the last available pair of the high-end shoes. She says she wanted the money her son would make from the shoes to go into his first business bank account when he turned 13 in a week.
"It was like Willy Wonka with the golden ticket," she said.
The teen designed a logo for his new business he named "The Real Deal" and posted an ad on his mother's Facebook Marketplace account.
Within two weeks, the pair received messages from a few prospective buyers. One of them, Doorga said, was "adamant."
"I really need it," the man said in Facebook Messenger texts viewed by CBC Toronto.
Daniel Martell, the stepfather of two Nova Scotia children who disappeared nearly nine months ago, has been charged with sexual assault, assault and forcible confinement, CBC News has learned.
Baffinland Iron Mines says it can move forward with construction of the Steensby component of its Mary River iron ore mine on Baffin Island, after receiving "all relevant authorizations."
British Columbia Premier David Eby says Alberta separatists meeting with the U.S. administration for financial backing is an act of "treason" and it's an issue he'll raise as the premiers gather with the prime minister in Ottawa on Thursday.
A London economist is applauding Mayor Josh Morgan's plan to absorb development fees for homeowners, but some city politicians say they have questions about who will benefit from the program before they agree to support it.
Videos making false claims about Canada's immigration policies are popping up on TikTok and Instagram in an attempt to scam travellers coming to FIFA World Cup matches this summer, according to immigration and anti-fraud experts.
Alberta broke housing construction records in 2025 and led the country in housing starts per capita — a massive upswing in homebuilding that comes after a period of similarly massive population growth.
Social services advocates in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., are voicing their concerns over the number of people who are released from jail and going straight into homelessness.
As the provincial government continues its efforts to spur more housing development in Nova Scotia, MLAs on a legislative committee heard Wednesday that data on vacancy rates for various segments of housing do not exist.
A Miramichi man is questioning why the Liberal MLA who represents him in the New Brunswick Legislature has blocked him from his Facebook page.
The Cree Nation of Mistissini, located in the James Bay region of Quebec, is under a lockdown notice Thursday morning following a fatal shooting in the community.
The City of Winnipeg is launching a pilot project that could see some derelict and vacant properties developed into affordable homes for people to buy.
The latest data shows Saskatchewan continues to lead the country in the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in custody.
Rob Lantz says he wants to "dream big," and one of those dreams appears to be a tunnel connecting Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.