Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 13, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba A4 Winnipeg Khi december 2000 Polo Park shootout Polo Park continued from a1 after trading some of which shattered plat Glass windows on the Southeast Side of the the robber still brandishing his handgun bolted Back into the mall past dozens of Terri fied he left a bloody Trail As he ran past three shops and out the Back Entrance of the its phone Centre and into a stolen in still said an elderly woman who was in the Bank at the time of the i saw him through the win Dow shooting and running and there was All this broken he left blood All Over the it was very another shopper said he was so sur prised to hear gunshots at a suburban mall that he thought the whole event had been i saw this Guy with a gun and i heard said who was eating at the a w restaurant on the second floor of the mall and watched the incident play out below him through the it happened so fast i figured it was put but i know that was who didst want his last name said his wife works in the a workplace that until now he thought was for hours after the curious shoppers milled around the yellow police tape that cordoned off a Large area out Side the Bank and inside the police Cruiser cars and Media trucks surrounded the South end of the mall near the Entrance to the Bank and movies shopping Centre Security patrolled the attempting to keep shoppers moving along and out of the Way of police spent the afternoon interview ing shaken Bank workers and employees from stores along the culprits getaway Many of the shops along the South end of the mall including the Bank remained closed for the rest of the Johnson said the suspects coupled with the fact that four armoured cars have been held up in december Over the last three years under similar have led police to believe the same person is responsible for All the police also suspect the same Man is responsible for an aborted armoured car robbery attempt at uni City mall on in that police say the suspect fled the scene before attempt ing to Rob the armed guards because he was were anxious to get this Guy off the streets As soon As said John we Are using All available resources to catch police Are particularly keen to Nab the Holiday robber to ensure he Doest strike again in keeping with his yuletide in each of the armoured car the robber has worn a but Johnson said police will be Quick to release a composite sketch if investigators receive better information on the mans Johnson said the robber escaped out the East Side of the mall in a stolen Blue 1993 Dodge Shadow four door car with licence number bad and was last seen heading towards Empress Johnson said police will make the rounds to hospitals and Walkin clinics to see if someone with a gunshot wound has sought the suspect is described As 5 foot8 with a slim he was wearing a red and Black three Quarter length Winter coat and Black police consider the suspect to be armed and anyone with information on the suspect or his whereabouts is asked to Call police at 9866219 or crime stoppers at with files from Kim Guttormson and Alexandra Paul recent robberies Here Are the most recent armoured car robberies in Winnipeg i May a masked Man armed with a Shotgun and using a stolen jeep robbed a Loomis truck As it made a pickup at the Safeway on Mountain no shots were fired and he fled on i a Man with a semiautomatic pistol robbed an armoured car at the Walmart at Kenaston and Mcgillivray he fired two hitting a guard in the leg and the guard returned fire he fled in a stolen i the Driver of a Loomis armoured car sped away from the uni City mall while two masked men armed with a sawed off Shotgun Hung around the they fled in a stolen i a Man was lurking around an armoured car at the uni City and drove off when i a masked Man with handgun demanded the Driver of an armoured car drop his bag of Money outside the Grant Park shopping then fled through the mall with the no shots Ware fired i june masked Man armed with a Shotgun attempted to Rob a Loomis Driver As he was leaving a Mcphillips Street he fled in a getaway and later the duo got into another car in a hotel parking police arrested four men later that i april two men robbed a Loomis Driver delivering Money to the cites social services hitting him with either a hockey stick or a Pool police arrested two envelopes were used to Mark off the blood Trail left As the robber fled through Polo Park mall after a shootout with an armoured car Ken Violiotti Winnipeg free press t want to get shot shootout shocks teen diners get a Birdseye View h Marc Gallant Winnipeg free press a witness describes the shootout scene yesterday at Polo guard had the right to pull trigger police the suspect opened fire almost immediately1 by Alexandra Paul horrified shoppers believe their eyes when a shootout Between a robber and an armoured car guard erupted outside Polo Park shopping Centre yesterday for a fraction of a Steven Hunter came closer than hed like to an armed robber who was fleeing an armoured car guard who was shooting at at the teenager was shocked by what hed his angular face drawn tight in the aftermath of the his eyes were red rimmed and he looked Hunter described the moment As a Brush with near death that hell never i saw he said of the Rob Bery of a Securi Cor Cash services guard outside the Polo Park Branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of four gunshots went i got i didst want to get he the teen said he didst see the gun in the hand of the robber the Only gun he saw was held by the armoured car guard who raised his weapon towards the Dou ble plat Glass doors the teen was walk ing through on his Way into Polo Park just after noon Hunter said he saw a figure beside face covered by a mov ing past him directly into the he was basically right beside then he just who shed right by the teenager after the he watched the Rob Ber run in front of across his path and through an its store just to his from there the Man fled out of the mall through the stores service door in the Hunter it was All Over in a he in so Lucky i didst get Hunter Winnipeg police were still searching last night for the masked who was Likely shot during the but escaped through a mall door and into a stolen car before he could be App re diners at a fast food restaurant that overlooks the Southside Entrance of the mall got a Birdseye View of yesterdays action directly below them outside the door of the we just saw this Guy running in from said Wilfred we heard gunshots three or four and this Guy comes running in with a he reached Down and grabbed a it was on the ground and he grabbed then the Man ran into the mall and out of Richards i told the Guy at the next is this real he Man downstairs and just a few metres away from the a Young woman was Manning a Kiosk table set up to advertise the Gull Harbour from her Teri Olaf son could see the Bank and the she heard the shots then Olafson said she saw two guards hit the floor the second guard ran right by Here with a gun in his Olafson the sight of the gun and the guard on the run spooked i was ready to run after i Fig ured if he was running i too she ended up staying i was on my ready to when i looked Down there and none of the peo ple standing there were they just kind of jogged Down to the next Olafson that made her if somebody got they would have been running pretty fast by by Leah Janzen an armoured car guard who fired his gun at a fleeing robber was within his rights when he pulled the police he didst have much of a said Bob Johnson of the Winnipeg police he has the right to protect his life and the lives of oth ers and that what he just after noon the Securi Cor Cash services guard was confronted by a masked gunman out Side the Cibic Bank at Polo Park shop Ping the robber grabbed the guards bag of Cash and simultaneously fired shots at the prompting the guard to return the suspect opened fire almost said the guard Felt his life was threat Stan director of Security Securi Cor Cash said All the company armoured guards Are provided with extensive firearms training and Are subject to strict staff refused to elaborate on the company Security training or the pro Tocol used to determine when a guard should draw his saying that information must be kept confidential to protect the but staff did support the actions of the guard involved in yesterdays he was fired upon and he returned staff said from his Toronto i cant say much else this has now become a police staff said his company will assign Security investigators to review the incident to ensure procedures were followed and to help police in their Johnson who met the shaken guard after the incident said the Man was holding up Well after his nightmarish Day on the company guards receive firearms Hes doing better than most people would under the he he certainly looked traumatized As a result of the Johnson said the guards gun has been seized and will be Analysed to help police determine How Many shots guard Marlc Gallant Winnipeg free press training and Are subject to police say the suspect apparently suffered a gunshot wound during the the culprit was Able to get away from the guard after stealing the bag of police Are still investigating the Inci Dent and have launched a manhunt for the ;