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
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.