Archery School Emergency

Sometime late on August 17th/early August 18th in Vancouver, locally owned business & school, Lykopis Archery, was broken into and over $25,000 worth of equipment and bows were stolen. Included in the theft were all of the school bows, retail, personal student bows, various pieces of gear, and the majority of the school's supply of arrows. 

The police have now been through the school, in addition to a forensics unit, and detectives will be working the case to the best of their ability. (Vancouver Police Department case # VA - 19-166554). Many other businesses along Commercial Drive are looking into their surveillance footage, and thanks to equipment donations and students rallying, we've been able to keep classes running and bringing archery to our students.

With Lykopis JUST shy of having insurance come through this week, unfortunately none of the loss is covered. The school had only been able to fully claim the current space within the last year and very recently completed a wave of costly and necessary renovations. For a small business created out of personal investments, held completely on the backs of the owner, administrator, & staff who gave their time, and with the school just getting it's bearings to ramp up - this situation is devastating.

The information learned so far points to this crime being predetermined, and looks very much like someone had cased the school for the robbery. There is a chance the stolen items have been moved out of Vancouver and could very well be on their way across Canada at this point to be flipped elsewhere for a profit - so we are hoping this campaign and the information included here can reach as far and wide as possible for a chance to recover the stolen property.

We will be updating this page as often as possible with more photos and closeups of the bows & gear if we find better ones to use. For now, here are the displays, bow racks, and bow cases from before the robbery, and some photos from after the robbery.

The crossed out items in the before pictures are the few that were not taken.

Aftermath:

Funds raised here to help Lykopis recover from this blow will go towards replacing the lost equipment; first and foremost for the school to continue operations at full capacity. As well as ensuring the space is much more protected with a proper security system going forward. 

Any amount of donation towards the recovery funds would be immensely appreciated, as well as folks sharing this along however they can and keeping a vigilant eye out for the items shown here. As a very important safety reminder and precaution - if anyone does come across something they think might have been stolen from us; do not engage or confront. Instead, call 911, ask for Vancouver Police (even if you're in a different part of the Lower Mainland) quote the case file number and inform them of what you've found and where. Do not, under any circumstances, risk your personal safety.

From the Lykopis Team and students - 

Thank you so, so much for your support.

http://www.lykopisarchery.ca/