Two men were arrested for an attempted armed robbery of the 7-Eleven on Valentine’s Day.
Two masked men with a sawed-off shotgun and a handgun entered the store and announced that it was a robbery, reported the witnesses to the scene.
However, they were not successful and fled the store empty handed.
The call came into police at approximately 12:46 a.m. on Feb.14. RCMP responded to the incident with the Police Dog Service according to Sgt. Scott West.
As a result of the investigation, police entered an apartment on 8th Street where two men, who were known to police, and one young offender were arrested. During the search a sawed off shotgun, additional gun parts and evidence were obtained by police.
The two men, aged 19 and 22, were held in custody as a result of their bail hearings and were scheduled to appear in court at Dawson Creek on Feb. 15. The charges being recommended are armed robbery using a firearm, disguising face with intent to commit an offence and pointing a firearm.
The young offender was released without charges.
Why the robbery was unsuccessful is not clear, and those working at the 7-Eleven at the time would not comment. However, Victor Chung, asset protection manager for 7-Eleven Canada said that it was because the staff members followed the company’s policies and procedures for an armed robbery.
“7-Eleven has quite a vast training as it relates to safety and security. As well, we have many security measures that we put in place in our stores including CCTV closed circuit cameras,” said Chung.
He also added that the stores are intended to prevent incidents from occurring by using crime prevention through an environmental design model.
“As a leader in safety and security, 7-Eleven prides itself on being at the forefront for such matters,” said Chung. We appreciate the police’s work in this specific incident and look forward to future resolution with these individuals.”
