THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER — As hospitals tended to almost 150 injured in Vancouver’s hockey riots, dawn broke with dozens of volunteers patrolling the city’s entertainment strip, picking up debris and garbage.
Al Cyrenne carried his broom downtown as he made his way downtown on the Canada Line.
"I’m all choked up," he said, as he surveyed broken windows and debris on a downtown street.
"I can’t believe the scene. Just talking about it bring me to tears. I can’t believe the people of Vancouver would do this. It’s just a few idiots."
While police said it was mostly young thugs responsible for the mayhem overnight, an equally young crew turned up in jeans and rubber gloves, some with Canucks jerseys, all carrying plastic garbage bags.
Dozens of remorseful and dismayed commuters crowded around the smashed and plywood covered display windows at the flagship Bay store, a historical building that was the first focus of rampaging looters Wednesday night.
Someone had tacked a rough, hand-painted sign that read: "On behalf of my team and my city, I am sorry." People waited in line to sign it.
Mayor Gregor Robertson said there has been an outpouring of support from citizens.
"People coming downtown to try and help cleanup, trying to get our city back," he said as he toured the damage.
"What we saw last night was atrocious behaviour."
But others appeared to glorify in what they did.
"Tonight the social peace was exploded," wrote D on the Vancouver Media Co-Op webpage in a posting triumphant about the mayhem.
"Single acts of defiance become the more heroic as one window gave way to another."
D went on to describe the trashing of downtown stores, mayhem that began with The Bay, where windows were smashed and high-end purses and cosmetics were looted by rioters who poured into the store.
Across the street at London Drugs, the windows were also smashed.
Wynn Powell, the president and CEO of London Drugs, estimated the damage there at $1 million alone.
Powell, sounding angry, said in an interview the looting wasn’t the random consequence of a mob mentality
"The rioters attacked us for two hours before they got into the store. They were down attacking the stores of Vancouver to try to steal product."
He said high-end cosmetics in particular were targeted.
Hospital officials reported two stabbing victims had been admitted and an unidentified man is in critical condition with head injuries.
It’s believed that person may have fallen 12 metres after trying to jump from the concourse of Rogers Arena to the sidewalk of a nearby elevated roadway after Thursday night’s game.
Vancouver Coastal Health said most of the rioting victims were treated at St. Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver, while about 40, including the stabbing cases and the head injury patient, are being treated at Vancouver General Hospital.
Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu called a news conference for later Thursday morning to discuss rioting and looting that also left cars burned over a roughly ten block radius of the city’s main shopping district.
