The Royal Glenora Club has shut down parts of its building after a vandal used rocks to vandalize the pool and locker room areas. (Royal Glenora Club)
The Royal Glenora Club is working to repair thousands of dollars in damages after a “senseless” vandalism spree Sunday morning.
Edmonton police were called to river valley landmark around 2 a.m. after someone broke into the club and smashed windows, shattered mirrors and gouged holes in the walls.
A wedding reception was just wrapping up in the community hall when the intruder began wreaking havoc, and concerned guests alerted police to the intruder.
“We had a troubled individual scale one of the fences at the club and proceed to pick up large rocks, throw them through our pool glass windows to enter the club,” club CEO Dustin McAvoy said Monday.
“He then proceeded to go into the boys’ locker room, to do some more considerable damage in there and then continued on into our skating area.”
Officers found the suspect in the skating area, attempting to use an emergency defibrillator machine as a telephone, said McAvoy.
A 37-year-old man was arrested on scene.
He is facing a number of break and enter and vandalism charges, club officials said. CBC News has asked for comment from Edmonton police.
No one was hurt in the incident.
‘I’m just glad no one was hurt’
Insurance adjusters will visit the club on Monday afternoon to assess the damages and provide a clear estimate of the anticipated cost of repairs.
The main pool, outdoor playground, and boys’ change room will be closed until further notice. McAvoy expects the repairs will take at least a week to complete.
For more information on the closures, members are advised to contact the club’s administration office.
“It’s a random act that was very senseless,” said McAvoy. “We thank the community for their support.
“Things like this happen in lots of facilities all over the world and I’m just glad no one was hurt.”
Club officials say the suspect scaled a fence before smashing his way inside through the pool windows Sunday morning. (Royal Glenora Club)