Already displaced by fire, Sudbury woman victim of attempted break-in at hotel
A tenant displaced in the downtown Sudbury fire last month said her hotel is denying her request to move her room to a centralized location following an attempted break-in.
"I feel like we're forgotten and left in the dark with everything," said Chrystal Walker.
Walker and her two daughters are staying at the Super 8 Hotel. On June 2, shortly before 10 p.m., Greater Sudbury police responded to an attempted break-in at the hotel.
Walker said she answered a knock at her door and found a woman who asked her for a cigarette. Feeling something wasn't right, she closed the door and told her 16-year-old daughter to take her nine-month-old sister to the back of the room.
Walker said the woman began banging aggressively on the door, demanding that she "give her back her baby."
She said the woman left temporarily, but returned some time later.
"I tried calling the front desk but the phone was broken, so I called my friend in a panic and told him to get the front desk to get someone to come help us," she said.
She said she broke a window to escape.
"In those few minutes, I broke the windows in the back she was coming through," Walker said.
"My eldest daughter, I got her out first and then I handed her the baby and I told her to calm down, to run to the front and I’ll be right behind her."
Walker said she was initially told that she could stay in a suite, located in a different area of the hotel. But that suddenly changed, she said.
Chrystal Walker, a tenant displaced in the downtown Sudbury fire last month, said her hotel is denying her request to move her room to a centralized location following an attempted break-in. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News)
Instead, Walker was moved to a different room in the same section of the hotel, which she said is more secluded. She wanted a more centralized location to protect herself and her family.
She said she reached out to the City of Greater Sudbury, who partnered with the Red Cross to support tenants displaced by the fire.
In an email to CTV News, the City of Greater Sudbury said it has client navigators assisting tenants displaced by the Coulson fire, but it is ultimately up to the hotel to decide where individuals are placed, based on availability.
Walker said she asked hotel management a number of times to be moved, but has been told they'll get back to her.
"I’d just prefer to be closer to anywhere else," she said.
'I'M PARANOID FOR THE KIDS'
"Like I said, I don’t need to be anywhere special. I'm paranoid for the kids. I couldn’t imagine if she'd gotten in."
In an email to CTV News, Greater Sudbury Police Service said the incident was mental-health related, that the individual was apprehended and taken to hospital for care. They said they don't believe it was a targeted incident.
Walker said, in part, it's the uncertainty of the situation is hardest to deal with.
"The uncertainty of not knowing, like where we're going to go, what we're going to do and it's chaotic, especially with a baby … I'd like to feel safe," she said.
Walker said she didn’t have tenant insurance and most of her family's possessions will have to be thrown out due to smoke damage.
She said she is grateful for the support from the Red Cross and from Coulson property owner, Tony Monteleone.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Still, she said the situation is frustrating.
"We don’t have anything. It's just, everything's a challenge," Walker said.
The Super 8 declined CTV News' request for an interview.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Person engulfed in flames outside N.Y. courthouse where Trump trial underway, says CNN
A person was covered in flames outside the New York courthouse where former President Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial is underway, CNN reported on Friday.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Senators reject field trip to African Lion Safari amid elephant bill study
The Senate legal affairs committee has rejected a motion calling for members to take a $50,000 field trip to the African Lion Safari in southern Ontario to see the zoo's elephant exhibit.
CFIA monitoring for avian flu in Canadian dairy cattle after U.S. discoveries
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is encouraging veterinarians to keep an eye out for signs of avian influenza in dairy cattle following recent discoveries of cases of the disease in U.S. cow herds.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
Vancouver firefighter in rehab at home after losing leg to flesh-eating infection overseas
A family trip took a frightening turn for Christopher Won when he was diagnosed with flesh-eating disease while in Hong Kong and now, after weeks of treatment overseas, the Vancouver firefighter is back home recovering.