Local AD Hit by Robbery

Yesterday my AD was hit by a robbery that resulted in wild chases through the streets of the city, many shots fired, and two dead. I've already heard other details such as one of the suspects firing his AK-47 at police out the sunroof of the SUV. My wife was snarled in traffic for an extra hour as traffic was routed around the crash scene to the road she normally takes home....we actually live just off Col. Talbot Rd., but a few miles from the area where the suspects were on it. Quite an event for my neck of the woods!

Here is the story from the local paper.

Guns, chaos, death

Two men die as a robbery at a London jewelry store leads to gunplay and a high-speed chase onto Highway 402.

KELLY PEDRO, MELINDA DALTON AND KATE DUBINSKI, Free Press Reporters; Free Press Reporter 2005-08-18 02:24:36


A brazen smash-and-grab jewelry heist rained chaos on south London yesterday, leaving two men dead after a gun battle and a high-speed police chase that started at a shopping mall and ended in a dramatic crash.

Dozens of police cruisers and a heavily armed SWAT team swooped down on the crash site on Highway 402 west of Wonderland Road, where police chased a luxury Mercedes SUV before it crashed.

One man lay dead alongside the highway. A police source said the man had gunshot wounds.

Another man later died in hospital from injuries.

"It was chaotic," said Mike Hurst, a station manager for Middlesex-London Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

An AK-47 assault rifle -- an underworld and terrorist weapon of choice -- was found at the scene, a source said.

Murray Smith, a veterinarian who lives on Westminster Drive near where the highway drama unfolded, said he thought there must have been an enormous accident.

"I saw this huge cloud of dust (on the 402)," he said. "Within minutes, 50 cruisers started coming and the police were all out there with their guns (drawn)."

Ontario's police watchdog agency, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), is probing the midday gunplay and 20-minute chase. It confirmed shots were fired, but wouldn't say by whom -- police or the suspects.

The SIU said four men were found at the crash scene, including one with fatal injuries. The other three were also hurt and one of them later died in hospital.

The victims were thrown from the SUV, said a source.

Police would not release identities last night or say where the men were from.

The SUV's licence plate holder had a Toronto marking.

The crashed Mercedes SUV was earlier seen racing on Wharncliffe Road, a gunman inside waving his weapon from the sunroof.

It also was spotted near Nichols Arena, where more shots were fired and a white minivan was found with a blown-out back window and a front tire in shreds.

"The guy was hanging out of the sunroof holding a gun," said a horrified Gus Kategiannis, who was on Wharncliffe and quickly realized the gunman had a high-powered weapon.

"I thought it was Iraq," said another witness, Demetrie Adamou.

Police were seen later combing the same area along Wharncliffe with a search dog.

Shots also were fired from the Mercedes at a black SUV on Crawford Street near Nichols Arena, witnesses said.

"I went outside and someone (in the Mercedes SUV) was shooting at a guy behind him in a black truck," said area resident Sandra Vandenberge.

London police said two officer were treated for minor injuries in the chaos that began just before 2 p.m., when sledgehammer-wielding bandits smashed display cases at Anstett Jewellers in White Oaks Mall and fled with loot.

Tight-lipped police confirmed several shots were fired during the chase, but wouldn't say where along the route, or by whom.

The chase extended down busy streets and through suburban stretches of White Oaks and Lambeth.

Police said they had an undisclosed number of people in custody and were no longer seeking suspects in the heist.

There were no reports of customers or store employees hurt in the dramatics.

Police were seeking the driver of a burgundy vehicle whose driver spoke to them at the scene of the crash. They also were looking for the driver of a black pickup. Both are considered witnesses.

The crash shut down a stretch of Highway 402, expected to reopen today, and forced closing of the airspace that bristled with helicopters.

The high-tension troubles began at Anstett when the store was held up at 1:45 p.m.

One nearby store employee said at first she thought two young girls were shoplifting.

"I then heard bang, bang and I saw a guy smashing the (jewelry) cases," said the rattled woman. "I couldn't do anything -- I was in shock just kind of watching him."

Stunned shoppers were whisked away by merchants to safety in nearby stores.

The SIU was still trying to determine speeds reached during the high-speed chase.

The violent spree was a type seldom seen in London, but officials wouldn't comment on any organized crime link.

* * *

Suspects rob Anstett Jewellers in White Oaks Mall at 1:45 p.m. yesterday.

Shots are fired from getaway vehicle, a luxury Mercedes SUV, at a black SUV near Nichols Arena. A white minivan was in the parking lot with a tire in shreds and a smashed rear window.

Suspects flee south on Wharncliffe Road. Someone is seen standing through the sunroof of the SUV waving a gun.

Suspects wind through streets of Lambeth to Colonel Talbot Road.

SUV exits onto east lane of 402 where it rolls, ejecting occupants.