Pawn shop owner attacked with a hatchet

Police are looking for help from the public after an elderly pawn shop owner was viciously attacked on Monday.

Officers were called to A1 Trading on 95 Street and 111 Avenue at 4:00pm after three customers reported the owner was lying on the floor behind the counter, badly beaten. Investigators do not yet know at what time the attack took place.

The man has been identified by people at neighbouring businesses as David Woolfson.

Police are unsure of what happened during the attack, but robbery detectives believe Woolfson may have been assaulted with a hatchet. Woolfson received significant injuries to his head and upper body. He has been released from hospital, but police have only been able to obtain limited information from him due to the severity of his injuries.

There were security cameras in the store, but they were not functioning at the time of the attack. An undisclosed amount of cash and jewelry was stolen from the store.

“I’m confident that because it occurred during the daytime hours that someone may have witnessed a suspect fleeing the premises or observed other suspicious activity.” EPS Robbery Detective Rob Paton said in a police release.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the complaints line at 780-423-4567 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

In 2009 Woolfson was featured in a documentary called Broke, about the daily activity at an inner city pawn shop.