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Thieves steal catalytic converter in broad daylight as owner catches them on camera

Brazen cat thieves on cam

Video of two men allegedly stealing a catalytic converter in Metro Vancouver in broad daylight has sparked outrage on social media.

The footage shows a man ducking underneath a truck with a catalytic converter and a saw and then running toward a vehicle. When he approaches the vehicle, another individual, the driver, takes a couple of steps toward the person filming the video. The pair flee the scene once the passenger shuts his door.

The theft victim is a Surrey resident whose family owns a fleet of trucks and says this isn't the first time thieves have stolen a catalytic converter from them — but this time was different. The thieves cut out the valuable device from underneath her truck in broad daylight, right in the driveway of her home.

Megan, who lives in the Guilford area, says she was standing in her living room where a large window overlooks the road while her children were at the table. From there, she spotted a black car coming down the road slowly. She noted that both of the men inside were wearing masks and sunglasses, which seemed odd.

"These people knew I was home," she says. "This is a residential area."

When she headed out onto her patio, Megan saw a shadow coming toward her driveway. While she couldn't see him at first, she heard someone sawing and "knew exactly what they were doing." Her immediate reaction was to yell, but she thought they didn't hear her and so she ran toward the truck.

"My goal was not to get close at all," she explains. "My goal is to yell really loud, have my phone out, and have them get scared off and leave my converter alone."

The man had already finished sawing off the device by the time she got to the back of the truck, however. "So it took less than 30 seconds," she notes.

For Megan, the scariest part was the driver of the car. She says her hand starts to shake as she recalls him getting out of the car and heading toward her in an aggressive manner.



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