EDMONTON – A 39-year-old man is facing several robbery-related charges after a series of events in north Edmonton Saturday.
The incident began just before 11:00 a.m. in the parking lot of a north Edmonton mall.
Inspector Chad Tawfik with the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) says a woman was sitting in her parked car when she was approached by a man who had what looked like a handgun.
“He subsequently took her vehicle at gunpoint and left the area,” Tawfik said.
The woman was shaken up, but not injured, Tawfik added.
A short time later, police were called to a bank in the area of 137 Avenue and 66 Street after the suspect allegedly showed his weapon and demanded money from a teller.
It’s alleged the suspect then drove to another bank, in the area of 161 Avenue and 97 Street, and again demanded cash from staff members.
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Police believe the man tried to get away when officers in the area spotted the vehicle and conducted a “high-risk takedown” in the area of 153 Avenue and 66 Street.
“Basically, at the conclusion of it it was determined he was found to be in possession of a replica firearm. So it turned out it wasn’t real,” Tawfik said.
However, he says the fact the firearm wasn’t real doesn’t make the situation any less dangerous.
“It appears to be a firearm to the public, it appears to be a firearm to the financial institution and it appears to be a firearm to police, so we have to treat it as that.”
The man, whose name has not been released, has since been charged with three counts each of robbery, possession of a weapon for the purpose of committing an offence, and wearing a disguise in commission of an indictable offence.
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