String of break-ins puts Inglewood businesses on edge

Six break-ins and a daytime robbery have businesses in Inglewood scratching their heads -- and beefing up security. 

The crimes have all happened in the last five weeks along Ninth Ave. S.E. 

Police say a man responsible for at least one has been arrested, but the other incidents are still in the investigatory stage. 

Business owners are getting frustrated. 

"I know there is some concern here," entrepreneur Teresa Mirzaee said. "(The criminals) must like this street."

Mirzaee owns Ama Jewellery and Watches, which was hit overnight last week. 

Two men broke the gate that keeps her storefront locked -- and it was all captured on camera. 

CCTV footage of a break-in at an Inglewood business in late July, 2023

"At 3 a.m., I got the alarm and the phone call, and when I looked at it, half of the door was on the floor," she told CTV News. "It seems no matter how much security you put up, if they want to get in, they get in."

The duo made off with a mix of inventory and personal items, including a handmade rosary and specific gifts for Mirzaee's friends and family. 

"And that I can never get back," she said. 

Next door, two nights later, Ami Tea and Sub was broken into. Those responsible made off with an ice machine. In doing so, they shattered thousands of dollars in glass. 

Across the street, Rosso Coffee currently has a boarded-up door. And beside that cafe, the Shoe Closet was robbed at gunpoint last month. 

"He came in, put on a pair of boots, grabbed one of our leather bags, put a hoodie on, and walked up to the front counter," owner Danielle Bru said. "Then he essentially pulled a gun out of the front of his pants and said, 'this is what I'm working with and so you're going to let me walk out with this stuff.'"

Bru says that perp was arrested and police later told her the gun was fake, but she never got back hundreds in stolen merchandise. 

"Criminals are just pretty bold these days," she said, adding that the store has since beefed up security. 

That's a common theme on Ninth Ave S.E. 

Businesses -- many of them mom and pop shops with limited budgets -- have been installing cameras and gated windows and doors. 

There's also talk of starting a neighbourhood watch. 

"I'll join," Canela Vegan Bakery owner Veronica Amaya said. "I'm concerned about my staff and what's going to happen if I get a break-in."

The Calgary Police Service tells CTV News it's still too early to say what's causing the spike, but that these crimes can happen in temporary waves. 

"We can't classify it as a trend," Cst. Arthur Rekshta said. "We're still gathering evidence and conducting the investigations, but one person has been arrested."

Rekshta believes the best recourse is to be prepared -- and to always err on the side of caution. 

"I would just like to encourage people to call the police if anything suspicious is happening in your area," he said.