A small store in the town of Nobleford has been robbed for the fourth time in seven years, its owner said. Picture Butte RCMP said they received a call at about 10:45 Tuesday morning that the Nobleford Food Market was robbed by two men.
Shortly after the incident, RCMP notified nearby Noble Central School, which enacted a “heightened sense of security,” locking all external doors.
“Once we tell them (the school) what the level of threat is, [they’re] to decide what level of precaution they need to take,” Sgt. Tom Howell said. “Clearly, if you’re dealing with an individual that is armed and is roaming the neighborhood, that ups the (threat) level quite substantially.”
When RCMP felt the community was no longer threatened, the school was notified, and the “heightened security” was lifted.
The owner of the Nobleford Food Market told Global News that one of the men was holding a knife while the other held a hammer. He also said there was a customer inside the store at the time of the incident, but no one was hurt. The two men stole $200 in cash, as well as cigarettes.
RCMP said the robbery may have been drug related, with the men looking for quick cash. Picture Butte RCMP plan to look at video surveillance to gain better profiles of the suspects.
The two men were of average height and build, and left the scene in a 1999 or 2000 pick-up truck with a short box that was a blue or teal colour.
According to Howell, these types of robberies in small communities are becoming more common.
“It’s a pattern throughout the province,” Howell said. “It’s not just in Nobleford. Shaughnessy was another location struck last year in an armed robbery. These small communities are susceptible to these sort of things because of their location and geography of where the closest police resources are.”
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