Repeated vandalism 'devastating,' Regina business owner says after 6 broken windows

The owner of a Regina lingerie store is speaking out after her business was vandalized again this past weekend — the sixth time in recent months. 

"It’s devastating for me," said Linda Bell, the owner of Thee Lingerie Shoppe on Albert Street.  

Between Aug. 26 and Sept. 4, rocks were thrown at the store’s front window on five different occasions.

In some cases, the rocks were thrown so hard that the windows were completely shattered, knocking over mannequins inside. In at least one case, Bell said she found glass near the back of her showroom.

Then over the past weekend, someone damaged the new window Bell had installed. 

“We thought maybe it was the end. We'd had the windows replaced, and then last Sunday it started again,” she said.

Nothing was stolen in any of the six incidents, and there's no sign anyone entered the store after breaking the windows.

Bell said insurance covered the first $10,000 worth of damage, but she’s had to pay $4,000 on top of that, and is worried about how much her insurance rates will go up next year.

The store has installed new video cameras and tougher glass, but Bell and her staff say they’re fearful of another attack, especially while they’re there during the day. 

Bell believes a single person is targeting her business. No one has been identified as a suspect or arrested in connection with the vandalism.

Bell has reported the incidents to the Regina Police Service, who she says have offered to patrol more frequently in the area.

Thee Lingerie Shoppe isn’t the only Regina business that has had its window broken this month.

In the early morning of Oct. 9, the front window of the Excalipurr Cat Café, farther north on Albert Street, was smashed, forcing the owners to board it up for several weeks. 

The cats, which were in the room next to the main café, were not harmed and nothing was stolen. No arrests have been made and no suspect has been identified in that case either.