Mississauga family left reeling after break-in, delayed police response

Doorbell camera footage captures suspects forcing their way into a Mississauga home.

Despite calling 911 minutes after four suspects broke into their home on Wednesday, a Mississauga family was left waiting for hours for police to arrive.

The break-in happened shortly after 2:30 p.m. at a residence on Bridewell Court, in the area of Mississauga Road and Highway 403.

The home’s doorbell camera captured the moment an SUV arrived and pulled into the driveway. One person gets out and knocks on the door several times before leaving.

Moments later, a similar SUV returns and two people with face coverings get out. One of them breaks the front door so they can get inside the house. A third person hops out of the SUV and also enters the home.

Rajendra Prasad was at work when he watched what was happening, prompting him to rush home. He arrived shortly after 3 p.m. and entered his house with a neighbour.

“Everything is on the floor everywhere,” Prasad told CTV News Toronto on Thursday, recounting what he saw inside. “Every single room, every single washroom, even the drawers and cabinets, even in the washrooms, they are all open. In the rooms, every drawer has been opened and thrown upside down on the floor.”

Fortunately, his daughter, Sugandh Gupta, was out, and his wife had just left before the break-in. Their dog Mitzy was the only one in the home.

Gupta said something had happened to their dog, as her bed cover had blood marks and urine. Mitzy was later taken to the vet.

“I’m still like really afraid of her. We still have to keep watch if she was drugged and she’s not herself,” said Gupta, who describes Mitzy as her child.

According to Gupta, they called 911 while the break-in was in progress, as they were worried the suspects might hurt their dog. However, she said they were on hold for hours, leaving her family on edge. Prasad had to secure the damaged front door so they could sleep that night.

Peel police did not arrive until the next day at 8 a.m.

“When I read the call initially, I wasn’t very happy with what I read either in terms of the delay that went by,” Peel police Acting Sgt. Tyler Bell-Morena told CTV News.

He said the delay was uncommon and noted that Peel police were responding to several calls at that time.

“It’s violating. No one should have to wait. Unfortunately, in this case, or fortunately — depending on how you look at it — there’s no one present anymore, and the danger has since ceased, so in that case, we can call this off to the side so we can prioritize things that are happening now,” he said.

Peel police are looking for at least four suspects in connection with the break-in. They have not released suspect descriptions.

Prasad said the suspects disabled their Wi-Fi and ripped the PVR box, which held security camera recordings, from the wall.

For Gupta, she just wants to feel safe again.

“We need to have safer cities. The fact that the police weren’t able to come because so much crime was happening and so many people were in distress that it took them this long to arrive, that’s scary,” she said.