Nov 07, 2013


It never fails that a few rowdies can turn the Halloween holiday into an unpleasant affair. That was the case in Arden on Thursday October 31 at approximately 8pm when 16-year Arden resident and proud home owner, Bob Woodcock, heard some shooting just outside of his home. Woodcock said that the shooting was followed by two loud bangs that sounded like they hit the side of his home. “I stepped outside really quick after hearing the bangs but because of the bad weather all I could see were the tail lights of a vehicle speeding away.” Bob said that once outside he noticed paint just above the garage door and after retrieving his flashlight and investigating further, found a hole in his home's vinyl siding about the size of a golf ball. Woodcock thinks that it was a paint ball gun that was fired at his home. Woodcock next called his daughter who told him he should call the police. Roughly half an hour later an OPP Constable arrived to investigate.

Woodcock said when I interviewed him at his home on November 1 that he was disappointed by the “stupidity and disrespectful nature of the perpetrators. What happened to the days when hooligans just used to use toilet paper and eggs and when no real serious damage was done? I can easily clean up a bit of toilet paper and eggs but it will hard and expensive to fix this. It took me three years to save up to put the siding on this house,” he said.

Woodcock said he was also surprised by the serious nature of the vandalism, especially the fact that the shooting was done from a moving vehicle. He also said that the consequences could have been much more serious. Woodcock is a father and the grandfather of a 14-month-old girl, whom he often baby sits at his home. Woodcock's daughter, who was present at our interview mentioned that it could have been a window that was shot out. Luckily Woodcock was alone at the time but said, “The window is right in front of the chesterfield which is where my granddaughter and I usually sit when she is here.”

Woodcock said that he wished that people would “smarten up, think twice and have more respect for other people and their property.” Anyone with any information about the Halloween shooting in Arden can contact OPP Constable Lori Lobinowich at 613-279-2195 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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