On Saturday, August 16th, shortly after 10 PM, a robbery occurred outside the church building. The police arrived at the scene after, and we have been cooperating with them on their investigation. They revealed that an Uber driver was the victim of the robbery. We now have no reason to believe the church is specifically targeted. The following Saturday, August 23rd, there was also an attempted car robbery in the shared church parking lot. In response, we are working with the police to increase patrols in the area and have arranged for our own traffic controllers to be present on Sunday mornings.
Out of an abundance of caution, we will also be locking the front entrance doors shortly after 8 PM each evening for the next month, in addition to hiring a security service for our busy evenings on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at both the church and 105 Gibson Centre. Please remain alert, take the following personal precautions:
1. Exercise caution if you are letting masked individuals into the church after the doors are locked by asking questions like, “Who are you here to see?” or “What program do you belong to?” to assess their connection with the church. Please feel free to call the custodian (647-274-4363) for help.
2. If you are entering the church after the front entrance doors are locked, please don’t take offence if you are asked the questions above. You can call the custodian (647-274-4363) for help to open the door.
3. For activities that end after 8 pm, please leave the church with other people.
4. For activities that end at 10 PM, please make sure you exit your room by 10 PM and, if possible, leave the church together with our custodian, David/Jairus/Joseph, by 10:15 PM for mutual support and safety purposes.
If you can be one of these traffic controllers or if you see suspicious activity, please report to our Facilities and Property Manager, Harry Chan, at facilities@tccc.ca or call the custodian at 647-274-4363. Thank you for your attention and cooperation in the matter. Please pray for those affected.