‘Speedrun’ attempt at Vancouver’s Church of Scientology prompts police warning

A popular social media trend of racing through the hallways of Church of Scientology locations has come to Vancouver, with one teenager arrested though later released.

Known as “speed running,” participants have entered the church’s Hollywood, Calif., locations and raced through hallways while attempting to avoid security guards and see how far they can get before being escorted out.

In Vancouver, police attended the city’s Church of Scientology location on Saturday at about 3 p.m. after being made aware of a group of about 250 to 300 people gathering.

“We received information that some of them were trying to get in, so we deployed police officers that were at other protests in the area,” said Sgt. Adam Donaldson with the Vancouver police. “At the rear there was some young people that managed to break a gate … but our members were able to prevent them from entering.”

Police used tactics to move the crown away from the church, he said, but at about 5 p.m. the group returned.

A 16-year-old male was arrested for a breach of the peace. He was later released into the custody of his parents and no charges were laid. Donaldson said the teen was arrested for pushing a police officer.

Dominic Tomkowicz, who came to the location to see if he could film what was taking place, said it was a “huge” turn out of people.

“This is just another TikTok and social media trend that will eventually fade out in time,” Tomkowicz said, adding he had no plans to go in the building, filming outside only. “Nobody gets harmed, I don’t see any harm in that. As long as … they don’t come back again and they follow the law, that’s perfectly fine.”

However, Donaldson told Global News there are criminal aspects, and potential charges, depending the actions people are taking to join the trend.

“If you are attempting to gain entry to a building, that is break and enter. If you are damaging property, that is mischief,” he said. “I saw the social media videos. I saw a lot of young people in the crowd masked up, and if you are making choices like that, you could potentially catch a criminal charge and it would affect the rest of your life.”

The term ‘speed running’ is part of video game culture and refers to playing through a game as quickly as possible during a “speedrun” often to avoid glitches and to minimize completion time.

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, officials with the Church of Scientology have condemned the viral trend, accusing those who take part in it of “hate crimes.”

Spokesperson David Bloomberg said in a statement to Global News on Sunday the incident in Vancouver was a “coordinated act.”

“This was not a peaceful visit or lawful protest,” Bloomberg said. “It was a coordinated act involving attempts to breach a religious facility and disrupt its operations.

“Turning them (church facilities) into targets for viral stunts is not journalism, protest or civic activity. It is trespass, harassment and disruption of religious spaces.”

—with files from Global News’ Darya Zargar

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