– It’s vandalism – VG

– It was gossip and ravage. They almost drove on the rims so that the sparks stood. Someone sent up fireworks. It is vandalism, simply, says Morten Finstad, chairman of the board of the trade association Avenyen, to VG.

Late Maundy Thursday, a large number of motorists gathered in a parking lot in the Avenyen shopping park outside Kristiansand city center. The police finally intervened to end the meeting.

– It started with some cars in the 17th century. The actual meeting began at 6 p.m. It was calm until a little over eight o’clock. At half past eight I called the police for control. A quarter of an hour later and I called again. Then they sent assistance and were on site for an hour before they called in reinforcements to end the meeting, says Finstad.

It was The Friend of the Fatherland who first mentioned the case.

Frank Salvesen, operations manager in the Agder police district, informed the newspaper that there was talk of 150-200 cars on the spot.

– It was reasonably hectic when we came out, Salvesen told Fædrelandsvennen.

It is not clear whether the robbery meeting has any responsible organizer, and VG has not succeeded in getting any of the participants to speak.

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Scorched rubber all over the area

A picture Finstad has sent from the area on Saturday morning shows large marks after the meeting on Thursday.

– There is scorched rubber all over the area. We had to have a caretaker to sweep up and clean up. He filled four shopping carts with rubbish, says Finstad.

He says they are on video surveillance of those he describes as “the worst”.

– I definitely expect that we will review the two or three worst. Then we are talking about those who destroy and do what we call vandalism, says Finstad.

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Finstad emphasizes to VG that there was a minority of those present who engaged in vandalism, and also reacts to the fact that the infection control rules were generally not complied with.

According to coronareglene i Kristiansand only 20 people are allowed to attend private outdoor events.

– How was the behavior of those present?

– The report the police gave was that when they were asked to leave the area, it was exemplary behavior. They got surprisingly little shit thrown at them. Most people understand that it is not okay to do that on private property, but still show up because they are curious, says Finstad.

– Do you fear that there will be more such meetings in the future?

– There is no doubt that the robbers are planning more such meetings in the future. We were bothered all summer last year and have spent a lot of resources trying to limit this, says Finstad.

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Alerts review

Kurt Mosvold is the largest farm owner in the area. He confirms that they will report more after Thursday’s meeting.

– We understand that young people want to have fun, but this can not be allowed at all. It’s vandalism and it’s dangerous. It is quite certain that it will lead to reviews, says Mosvold.

He says they will watch go through the videos from the camera surveillance after Easter to see who and how many they will report.

– If nothing is done about this, the problem will persist. I expect the police to take action, says Mosvold.

He says that those who own the farm have been in dialogue with the police and representatives of the robbers in the past where they have tried to find places where they are allowed to engage in robbery.

“Unfortunately, we see that the result has not been optimal,” says Mosvold.

Agder police district has not responded to VG’s inquiries about the case on Saturday.

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