Man sounds alarm after thief breaks into his wheelchair-accessible van

A man with a disability is calling on Toronto Community Housing to beef up security after someone was caught on video breaking into his wheelchair-accessible van and in the underground parking lot of his TCH building near Jarvis Street and Wellesley Street.

Josh Forbes says a neighbour's dashcam caught last Friday night's incident on video, which has now been posted to Facebook and Youtube.

"Please share to garner attention. What kind of sick person does this, the van is clearly identifiable as an accessible vehicle," Forbes wrote in the caption for the video.

Forbes, who began using a wheelchair after he was injured in a diving accident, says his van is just the latest vehicle of several to be broken into over the past few weeks in his building's parking lot. He says another vehicle was broken into the same night.

The video appears to show a man approach the van, smash the driver's side window, enter the vehicle, and then exit it with a drawstring bag.

Forbes says he discovered a few things were missing from the van after the incident.

"The ownership, insurance, owner's manual, cell phone chargers, some cash, some change was gone," he told CBC Toronto. "I have a box in the back that has parts for the vehicle that had been rifled through."

He says in addition to alerting security officials with TCH, he plans to file a formal complaint with Toronto police.

'Lacking security'

Forbes says that at least six vehicles were broken into the garage of his building over the last six weeks, including one on the same night as his van.

"There is a lady who parks just around the corner from me that has been broken into twice." he said. "She actually leaves her windows down now so they don't smash the windows anymore."

Toronto police say they are aware of at least three break-ins in the building in the last month, not including the latest one.

They say they are investigation and say it's not uncommon for incidents like this to happen in bunches.

Forbes says more needs to be done to protect the security of the residents of the building.

"The door to get into our underground, it is supposed to be used with a fob, but if you push it with any force whatsoever, it opens wide open," he said. "It's definitely lacking security there."

'We're doing everything we can,' TCH spokesperson says

Brayden Akers, a spokesperson for TCH, told CBC Toronto that they have stepped up security to prevent more thefts.

"We're doing everything we can as a landlord and we're even deploying additional security in the building and that's above and beyond any private landlord," he said.

Forbes says he just hopes that the person who broke into his van is identified.

"This is not the first time he has been in our underground parking," he said. "If he is breaking into a wheelchair- accessible vehicle in a handicap spot to go after money in community housing, where else is he going?"