Violent incident with box cutter-wielding man amplifies calls to help core area businesses

A frightening encounter has a downtown business owner calling on city hall to do more to address drug use, homelessness and street culture in London, Ont.

On Monday, a man entered the Coffee Culture on Dundas Place and violently kicked the locked bathroom door while an employee was inside.

Owner Shane Kenneth says he and a friend ordered the man to leave, telling CTV News London, “I was not going to let someone get in the bathroom with her, that’s just not acceptable.”

The man began to undress in the coffee shop, so Kenneth escorted him outside where the situation escalated to violence.

“He sucker-punched me in the nose,” says Kenneth whose nose was bloodied. “That’s when the knife came out and he demanded his bike.”

Kenneth threw the bike and the backpack towards the man, and let him flee.

London police would later charge a 33-year-old man with assault with a weapon.

Kenneth says the situation is getting worse on Dundas Place for his family-run cafe and neighbouring businesses.

A petition started by some business owners along Richmond Row has already gathered 1,000 signatures demanding city hall do more to address homelessness.

London police advise business owners who encounter a violent person in their store to call 9-1-1 immediately “If you are in a situation where somebody is in possession of a weapon, or you feel your safety is in danger, or someone else’s safety is in danger.”

Kenneth admits unpredictable incidents have taken an emotional toll over the years, but he and fellow merchants still have faith in the core.

“I’ve told myself that 99.9 per cent of the time it’s gonna be alright. There’s some people who come in here that look rough, but some are the nicest people you’ll ever meet,” he says.