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Local mom shocked by ‘scary’ incident at Orangeville grocery store

March 19, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Baker

“Everyone has been in a sort of ‘every man for themselves’ kind of attitude lately.”

Those were the words used to explain a shocking incident that occurred at Freshco last week, when a 26-year-old mother of two admitted she felt assaulted after having a case of water ripped from her hands while gathering up some last minute supplies for her young son and daughter.

“I had noticed there was only (one) case of water left, so I figured I would grab it. I walked over to it, grabbed one end of it and, as I went to lift it up, a guy grabbed the other end and took it from me,” Ms. Mackey told the Citizen. “I was angry. Upset mostly. I couldn’t believe that, somewhere like Orangeville, (people) could get so careless so fast.”

She added, “A few months ago, I had never seen any such behaviour. I didn’t even want to bother going to another store to look for anything, because what would be the point? Shelves are bare. People are being rude and careless.”

Immediately following the incident, Ms. Mackey took to social media in an attempt to relay the message that people need to stop panicking in the face of the global COVID-19 crisis and instead focus on helping one another and maintain the sense of community she feels Orangeville has always been known for.

That’s how her dad, John Mackey, learned about the incident. Incensed, he reached out to Orangeville Mayor Sandy Brown to ask what he, and the Town, were doing to stem the feeling of panic currently sweeping throughout the community. 

“This is getting ridiculous now. My daughter was saying she was scared to leave her house. There’s just total panic everywhere in our community,” Mr. Mackey said.

He decided to launch a “peaceful protest” outside Town Hall in an attempt to, in his words, bring people back to reality. However, with the COVID-19 crisis worsening again this week, and both the provincial and federal governments calling for Canadians to stay home when they can and avoid public gatherings, he nixed it. 

Now, he is focusing his efforts on helping those in the community who feel isolated during these troubling times. As one of the founding members of the Orangeville & Area CAREMONGERING page on Facebook, he has committed to running deliveries for individuals who can’t leave their home.

“I’ve done one delivery today for an individual with diabetes, and have more planned,” Mr. Mackey said. “It’s important during this time that we help each other, and offer a hand to some of our most vulnerable. This idea that it’s every man for themselves, that we can’t be decent people and offer our help right now is ridiculous.”

As for his daughter, Mr. Mackey says she’s a “tough cookie” and will get over the incident.

“She’s good now. It’s just one of those things where, it genuinely scared her. It all happened so fast, it freaked her right out,” John said. “I think more than anything, she just couldn’t believe it had happened, that someone would be that selfish.”

While this wouldn’t have helped Amanda avoid her situation, some local stores, such as Zehrs and Shoppers Drug Mart, have implemented a new ‘senior’s hour’ of sorts, opening their doors to the older population between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. so as to ensure they have access to certain products that are selling out in rapid fashion, such as toilet paper, soap, bread, milk and canned foods.

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