\n\tThe Edmonton Police Service\u2019s hate crime unit has opened an investigation into a series of recent incidents at a west\u2013end home involving the theft of Pride flags and the unusual delivery of a sign with a hateful message.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt all started when Kelsey Voelker and her nine-year-old daughter heard a noise at their home\u2019s front door one evening in mid-June while eating dinner. Thinking the noise may have been a package delivery, they didn\u2019t check outside until they\u2019d finished eating, discovering a small Pride flag that had been hanging from their mailbox was missing.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s important to me to show ally-ship with our LGBTQ friends,\u201d Voelker told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\n\tOver the next month, she says there were more thefts of property from her Webber Greens home. Another flag Voelker hung to replace the stolen one went missing as did a lawn sign with the words \u2018Hate Has No Home Here\u2019 with inclusivity stickers on it.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe thefts are among a series of eight or nine incidents outside the front door \u2013 doorbell-ringing, door-knocking and a group of boys kicking at the screen door \u2013 that prompted Voelker to contact police and install a security camera.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI would absolutely say it feels like we\u2019ve been harassed for weeks in our own home,\u201d said Voelker. \u201cWe never previously had a security camera system. I\u2019d never felt the need to have one before. I\u2019d always felt quite safe in our little neighbourhood with our nice neighbours, but after several of the incidents recently, we did get the camera. I\u2019m looking at getting full-time security now.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt almost feels a bit torturous. You never know when the next time they\u2019re going to come and bang on the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThen this week, the camera picked up video of masked boys coming to the door on two separate nights, touching the door and taking photos of it with their smartphones. It culminated on Tuesday night with a pair of masked boys throwing a broken screen door onto the front steps of Voelker\u2019s home with a sign taped to it, reading \u2018God On Top, Pride is Evil.\u2019<\/p>\n
\n\tVoelker\u2019s husband, Brock Beverley, and a neighbour chased after the suspects but did not apprehend them.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt seems like a bit more than just mischief. These do seem like targeted, intentional hate crimes against a marginalized group of people,\u201d said Voelker. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly scary that it\u2019s happening in my neighbourhood. I know the sentiment exists everywhere, but it\u2019s very scary that it\u2019s happening to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tOn Thursday, Edmonton police confirmed to CTV News Edmonton that they\u2019re aware of the incidents.<\/p>\n
\n\tAn EPS spokeswoman said the EPS Hate Crimes and Violent Extremism Unit has contacted Voelker and is investigating.<\/p>\n
\n\tWith files from CTV News Edmonton\u2019s Nahreman Issa<\/p>\n