Oak Bay police are asking for help identifying a man seen taking photographs of children at Willows elementary school last Thursday (March 8).
“Most definitely it is concerning,” said Deputy Chief Kent Thom. “We have no idea what these pictures are being used for.”
Investigators have been able to determine the individual is not the same person who snapped pictures of kids at play at the same school last year, he said.
In that incident, it was determined that no offence had been committed and that the photos were being snapped for a business website.
Last week, parents confronted the camera-wielding man, who did not explain his intentions.
“It didn’t look like this fellow was too alarmed when he was confronted by the parents,” Thom said. “He just smiled and took a picture of the parent that confronted him. We don’t know if it was a defiant move on this man’s part.
Police were not notified of the incident until “after this fellow was long gone,” Thom said, adding that parents were only able to provide a general physical description of the man.
As a result, police have informed school officials and teachers “that we should be called immediately so we can get down there and identify who the person is” if a similar situation happens in the future, Thom said.
Police are looking for a tall male, believed to be in his 20s. He has dark hair and dark skin. Please call Oak Bay police at 250-592-2424 with any tips.
