Memorial was set up to encourage people to slow down

Several angels and crosses were stolen from a memorial that Yannick Aubin had placed for her son outside Slegg Lumber on Sooke Road in Langford. (Yannick Aubin photo)

It’s a senseless act that has one local mother shaking her head in disbelief.

Seven angels and two large crosses were recently stolen from a memorial for Yannick Aubin’s son, AJ, that was set up close to Slegg Lumber on Sooke Road in Langford.

“I can’t even try to understand why somebody would do that,” said Aubin, who posted about the loss on Facebook Sunday night. The post has since been shared more than 200 times. “This is just evil … It’s horrible. There’s no value [to the angels].”

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AJ was struck by a truck as he and his twin brother crossed Sooke Road on Oct. 23, 2012. He was taken to Victoria General Hospital and was in the intensive care unit for a few days before he succumbed to his injuries. He was 13 years old.

Shortly after, the memorial for AJ began to grow. His step-brother, a classmate and another girl in the neighbourhood made crosses to be placed at the memorial located near the bus stop just before Glenshire Drive. Over the years, it has become a place for Aubin and others in the community to mourn the loss of the teenager.

Aubin described AJ as a mommy’s boy, one who always tried to make her happy. AJ even arranged for flowers and a teddy bear to be delivered to his mother on her birthday. He also picked flowers for her all the time.

Two angels were also placed at the memorial so another grieving parent could feel she had a place to go.

It wasn’t until last week that a member of the community noticed that a few of the statues were missing. Yesterday, they noticed all of them were gone.

Aubin hopes whoever took the statues will return them. While she admits she thought about taking the memorial down, she has since decided against that idea.

“It’s there to remind people to slow down,” she said. “It’s for all his school mates, his baseball friends. I have so much of AJs, but nobody else does.”

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kendra.wong@goldstreamgazette.com