A break-in at Richmond’s RAPS Thrift Store on Wednesday morning has set back medical procedures, according to RAPS CEO Eyal Lichtmann.
A few thousand dollars stored in the store’s safe, meant to help animals in need of medical treatment, was stolen along with other valuable items from the thrift store, around 5 a.m. on Wednesday.
Lichtmann called the incident, which took place at RAPS’ Granville Avenue and St. Albans Road location, “devastating,” and said it will greatly impact animals in need and RAPS’ charity program.
“The revenue is earmarked directly to assisting the public with our animals at the RAPS Animal Hospital, and it’s also earmarked in helping the cats at the cat sanctuary,” said Lichtmann.
Karen Kamachi, the store’s volunteer manager, told the Richmond News that her assistant manager arrived to work on Wednesday to find the back door and side window open.
It was after that they realized things were broken and stolen inside the store.
Security footage, said Kamachi, showed the culprit as a “single masked man.”
He had gone through the cash register, stolen the tablet used for payment, ripped off and stole the store’s safe from the wall and went through a cupboard where several “high-end merchandise” items were located.
At one point, she added, the culprit even “crawled through the ceiling.”
Kamachi described the incident as “violating” and “very upsetting.”
“I feel violated. This store is like my home and family,” she said.
“All my staff and customers feel violated and now we can’t help animals who are in need of help at the moment.”
She said they believe the suspect may have been familiar with the store.
“We think it may be a customer or someone who frequently comes into the store because they knew how to slide open one of the windows from the outside … and climbed through the bars,” she said, adding the window is always wedged closed with a hockey stick.
“We’re grateful no one was hurt and that they didn’t take everything from the store. We work really hard for very little and it’s difficult to see someone come in and steal what we work so hard to provide for the community.”
While RAPS fixes the damages, the store will be closed until further notice, said Lichtmann.
Richmond RCMP confirmed that a suspect had entered the store early Wednesday morning through a window and exited from the rear door after stealing the aforementioned items.
The investigation is still active and ongoing and police are asking witnesses or have information to contact Richmond RCMP quoting file number 2022-3585.
