Reply #23: they showed that on CBC news

[iverglas]

Assuming it's the same one (won't load for me) ... wasn't sure why the CBC ran it; just "dumb USAmerican tricks", I guess.

For nearly 30 years, I've lived across a busy street and down a few doors from a 24-hour convenience store in a bad neighbourhood.

A clerk there told me a few years ago about somebody trying to hold him up. With a penknife, the keychain variety. The clerk laughed, told him to get lost, and called the cops.

Never in 30 years have I heard of a gun crime incident in this neighbourhood. Well, apart from back in the early 80s when the Italian wave of immigrants had mostly moved to the burbs, but the ethnic restaurants and such were still here and some violent members of that community had stuck around with them. A restaurant on the busy street several blocks in the other direction got shot up once, and there was a series of guy gets shot, somebody shoots the shooter a week later, somebody else shoots him ... but that was, like I say, 25 years ago.

For a while, the store and the nearby apartment building had private security patrolling the area, a practice we residents found quite obnoxious. Haven't seen them lately. They didn't have guns.

If you keep firearms, and handguns especially, out of the hands of yer run of the mill, common or garden, petty criminal, you just don't have these things happening on any scale that any ordinary person needs to even think about.


http://www.insidetoronto.com/article/72108

Mar 12, 2009
Arrests in spate of gas bar robberies
Three men rack up nearly 300 charges between them

Three Brampton teens are charged and a fourth suspect is on the run, all alleged to have used knives, meat cleavers and masks, in a 32-store spate of armed robberies described as one of the largest series in recent holdup squad history.

http://www.northumberlandnews.com/news/article/1220266-...

Oct 05, 2011 -
Suspect sought in Port Hope gas bar robbery attempt
PORT HOPE -- Port Hope Police Service asks the public's help in identifying the above suspect wanted in connection with a robbery at a Toronto Road gas bar on Tuesday, Oct. 4 around 11:30 p.m.

... The suspect allegedly entered the gas station brandishing a knife and motioned for the attendant to turn over the money, said Const. Payton. The suspect did not get any money, and fled, heading in a southerly direction, she said.

Aha, finally: a gun. ... Oops, no ...

http://www.durhamregion.com/news/crime/article/1080415-...

Sep 12, 2011
Ajax gas bar robbed at knife point

AJAX -- An employee was threatened by a knife-wielding bandit during a robbery at an Ajax gas station Sunday night.

... The men were taken into police custody August 13 and charged with robbery with a firearm and using an imitation firearm for the commission of an offence in connection with the Petro 3000 hold-up.

And another dud:

http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/local/article/230507

Dec 11, 2009
Robbery suspect apprehended following gas bar robbery

A 39-year-old man is facing robbery charges after he allegedly held up a gas bar.

... He has been charged with robbery (business) while armed with firearm, disguise with intent, possession property obtained by crime (under), and fail to comply recognizance.

... He then allegedly approached the counter, produced a handgun and demanded the attendant hand over cash, which the victim agreed to do.

... An imitation handgun was later seized at his residence during the execution of a Criminal Code search warrant.

Damn, another dud (these being reasons why more stringent controls on these "imitation firearms" are under consideration):

http://www.caledonenterprise.com/news/arrests-made-in-g... /

Wednesday, August, 27, 2008
Arrests made in gas bar robbery

Caledon police investigators have arrested two men in relation to a mid-July robbery of a gas station just south of Caledon East, The Enterprise has learned.A young man was held up at gunpoint at the Petro 3000 station on Airport Road July 13 after two men entered the station around 10:30 p.m.

The men were taken into police custody August 13 and charged with robbery with a firearm <that is the charge whether it is real or not> and using an imitation firearm for the commission of an offence in connection with the Petro 3000 hold-up.

Ah, finally, a gas bar and a gun:

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/300007--carjackers-...

Carjackers go on robbery spree
Published On Mon Feb 04 2008

Police are hunting two armed men after a carjacking and shooting was followed by two gas bar robberies and a high-speed police pursuit on Highway 401.

... Police say the Audi was stopped at a traffic light when it was bumped by a van. The driver got out of his car to confront the driver of the van and there was an altercation. The Audi driver was shot in the head with a .22 calibre pistol during a struggle and his passenger was assaulted and removed from the car. <injuries not life-threatening>

And my favourite from this little google:

http://www.mykawartha.com/news/news/article/926853

Jan 10, 2011
Arrest made in Fifes Bay gas bar robbery

... The victim told police that a lone man entered the store, appeared to shop and then approached the cashier to make a purchase.

When the cashier opened the till police allege that the man pushed her backwards into a display and reached into the till to steal cash. Police says that the woman reacted quickly, slamming the cash drawer shut on the suspect's fingers.

There's just never anything exciting for me to report from up here in the boring North ...