Group claims responsibility after tires of more than 30 SUVs deflated in Kitchener, Ont.
A group claiming to be environmental activists is taking responsibility after the tires of dozens of SUVs were flattened overnight in Kitchener, Ont.
Waterloo regional police say they’ve received more than 30 reports of property damage to SUVs parked in driveways in the Glasgow Heights and Stanley Park areas of Kitchener.
Police say the suspects left notes on windshields stating: “Your gas guzzler kills.”
“We do find this rather concerning, especially with the messages that were left on the vehicles,” said Const. Andre Johnson, with Waterloo Regional Police Service.
The tires were deflated using a device that made them slowly leak overnight, police say.
MORE TIRES DEFLATED
The self-proclaimed environmental activist group “Tyre Extinguishers” claims to be behind another round of SUV tire deflations in Waterloo region.
In an email on Saturday to CTV News Kitchener, the group said they flattened the tires of 45 SUVs in multiple locations in Kitchener and Waterloo.
“Last night, we (Tyre Extinguishers) flattened the tires of 45 SUVs in multiple locations across the Waterloo Region, including the Upper Beechwood and Beechwood Forest neighbourhoods,” an email from Tyre Extinguishers said in part.
Rental prices across Waterloo region have soared since the beginning of the year, with the average rental units in many cities inching further away from “affordable housing.”
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, housing is considered “affordable” if it costs less than 30 per cent of a household’s before-income tax income.
The newest report from Rentals.ca shows cities within the region reporting rental increases upwards of 20 per cent since the start of 2022.
The report ranks cities in Canada based on the average rent price of a vacant one-bedroom unit.
Based on the report, the average one-bedroom unit in Canada costs $1,639 per month, while the average cost for a two-bedroom unit is $2,110.
Using the average monthly rental data from Rentals.ca, here is what your yearly pre-tax household income has to be in cities across Waterloo region if you want "affordable housing."
YouTuber event draws hundreds of people, police to Kitchener park
Waterloo regional police say officers were swarmed and had to call for backup while trying to disperse a crowd of more than 300 people at Kitchener's Tremaine Park on Sunday.
The group was gathered to watch a basketball game hosted by K Showtime, a Toronto-based YouTuber with nearly 250,000 subscribers.
Area residents who spoke to CTV said they were shocked to see so many teens at the park.
“We saw cars everywhere,” said Silvana Galizia, who lives nearby. “We thought it was maybe a party, but then we noticed the crowd at the park.”
Galizia said it started around 6 p.m. and about 15 minutes later officers arrived.
“We were watching from the porch, and then all of a sudden people started running, and there were fights and the police showed up,” Galizia said.
Residents estimated seeing teenagers as young as 15 years old at the gathering.
Police release identity of swimmer who died at Guelph Lake
Provincial police have released the identity of the swimmer who died at Guelph Lake earlier this week.
He’s been identified as 21-year-old Rayan Kaber of Mississauga.
Police say Kaber’s body was recovered from Guelph Lake Monday after he was reported missing the day before.
“They were at the beach with family members, from what I understand,” Cst. Jacob Unger, with Wellington County OPP told CTV News on Monday. “They were from out of town just here to enjoy the day.”
Multiple witnesses on the beach called police around 5 p.m. on Sunday after spotting a swimmer in distress around 30 ft from shore.
One witness told CTV News he and several others saw a man without a life jacket struggling, but the deep and mucky waters made it difficult to help.
"Everything was so quick, but I think we were swimming for at least one minute, and not just us, at least 10 people were there and shouting 'help!', so when I realized everything was serious I tried to jump in the water," said Mohi Sanisel. "The water was so muggy. I asked someone if they had goggles or anything to see underwater, but it didn't work."
Concrete truck collides with ION train in Kitchener
After more than eight hours of work, a damaged ION train has been removed from King Street in Kitchener.
Crews spent much of Tuesday slowly lifting the light rail vehicle back onto the tracks a few inches at the time after it was derailed by a crash Tuesday morning.
The collision, which happened around 8 a.m., saw a cement truck smash into the side of the ION on King Street East near Agnes Street.
The impact pushed the front end of the train off the tracks.
“I was upstairs, and all I heard was a big bang,” said Al Crichton who lives around the corner. “I came down, and it looked like the train wanted to make a left onto Agnes, it can’t do that.”
The train was in service at the time, but no injuries have been reported.
According to Neil Malcolm, acting director of transit services for the Region of Waterloo, the crash is unprecedented in the time the ION’s been in operation in Waterloo region.
“This is the first collision involving an ION LRT where the train was actually pushed off the tracks,” Malcolm said. “That has not happened in the three-year history of service on the ION LRT.”
Crews were on-scene for more than eight hours on Tuesday, using a hydraulic air pump to slowly inch the train back onto the track.
