Teen violence feared in Belle River
Business owner worries attack related to recent fatal stabbing
A Belle River business owner is warning of teen violence in his community after his store became the scene of an altercation over the weekend — an incident he believes was related to the fatal stabbing in Belle River earlier this month.
“Today’s youth is a scary thing,” said Sam Fallon, proprietor of Sam’s Pampered Pets at the corner of Notre Dame and South Street in Belle River.
Around 2:50 a.m. Sunday, Fallon’s interior security cameras captured signs of a brawl outside the building that resulted in a smashed window, shattered Plexiglas and other property damage. Fallon believes the damage was caused by someone swinging a weapon.
“You can see the hit marks,” he said. “It was probably to intimidate.”
The cameras initially recorded at least two young people hanging out in front of the store — a male and a female.
Two vehicles can be seen arriving from the west. One of them turns in the middle of the street to pull up to the couple’s location. Multiple figures then pass the camera view, apparently in pursuit of the couple.
At one point, a person can be seen falling to the ground, exchanging words with someone, then clambering back to his or her feet.
Moments later, the westernmost store window bursts in a shower of broken glass.
Essex County OPP would not offer information nor comment about what happened.
“Unfortunately, there is nothing to report at this time. The matter is under investigation,” wrote Const. Karen Sinnaeve, an OPP spokeswoman, in response to all inquiries.
Fallon said he knows a police cruiser arrived in the area. He also reported his property damage and provided his security camera recordings to police.
Lack of official word has left many in the community to speculate. Fallon said he’s heard from several parents that Sunday’s incident was just the latest in an ongoing conflict between a group of Windsor teens and a group of Belle River teens.
That conflict may have included Marcus Pierce, 18, of Windsor, who was fatally stabbed in Belle River on the night of July 13. Two other teenage Windsor males were also stabbed.
A 17-year-old Belle River male is in custody facing charges of second-degree murder and assault causing bodily harm.
Comments on social media by friends of Pierce show they were raging over comments on social media by friends of the Belle River teen accused of stabbing Pierce.
Social media has also been active on the side of Belle River parents. A Facebook post by Fallon about what happened at his store had been shared more than 500 times at press time.
“There are bad kids driving around looking to hurt anyone they find,” Fallon wrote in his post.
Despite the tension in his town, Fallon maintained that Lakeshore OPP are doing “an excellent job.”
“A lot of the community are saying they’re not, but there’s only so much you can do when you’re spread thin,” Fallon said on Monday.
“You only have so many officers on the street, and they’re getting calls all night long.”
Sam’s Pampered Pets has been at its current location for eight years. Fallon said he’s never had an incident like this before. He estimates it will cost around $1,500 to repair the damage from Sunday morning.
But he considers himself lucky that nothing happened to the windows by his fish tanks.
“I have $30,000 worth of aquariums. If those were hit, it would have been a disaster,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fallon is staying vigilant for the sake of his three children — ranging in age from 13 to 17.
“We keep our eye on them. They don’t go out after dark.”