Toronto Jewelry Store Employees Use Swords To Fend Off Robbery Attempt
A daylight robbery attempt at a jewelry store in Mississauga, Ontario, ended with store employees using swords to ward off the criminals.
As reported by CBC News, the robbery at the Ashok Jewellers occurred shortly after noon on Wednesday, when four would-be robbers entered the premises by smashing through one of the store’s windows with the use of what appeared to be a hammer.
CCTV footage of the attempted robbery shows that an employee working in the store and a customer were just feet away when the robbers broke the window. With the glass bashed in, one of the intruders tried to climb through the broken window, but he was immediately met with three people from inside the store wielding saber-style swords who charged at him.
“When we saw them coming in, that’s when we really took action and we rushed them,” said Arjun Kumar, the son of the store’s owner.
Kumar added that one of the men was wielding a handgun, but that when he tried to fire the weapon it luckily jammed.
“They had a gun but my main concern was, I wanted them to not get into my store,” he explained.
“I was willing to do anything to keep them out. Even if it meant me getting shot, not a problem.”
A #Mississauga jewelry store fended off a would-be robber with swords https://t.co/IgbyqwVlcU pic.twitter.com/zlzEQAhA0l
— blogTO (@blogTO) November 22, 2018
The four robbers then fled the scene in a dark SUV, according to police. Constable Danny Marttini has stated that the police have not yet identified the four suspects in the case. All four were wearing dark clothing and hoodies in order to cover themselves as much as possible and make identification harder.
Kumar added that the swords in the store had been given to the family as gifts from close friends. Following the attempted robbery, the store was able to remain open, which Kumar called “good luck.”
Both the robbery and forensic units of the police department are investigating the case.
Interestingly, Ashok Jewellers is not the only one to have fought off a robbery with this unusual method. Back in July, another store just 100 meters away from Ashok Jewellers was faced with an attempted robbery and scared the criminals off with swords. As a result of these two incidents, Marttini is openly urging store owners and employees to think of their own safety before attempting to charge to the rescue in such situations.
“I think a lot of people want to naturally defend what’s theirs. At the same time, we don’t want people doing things that would cause any harm to themselves. Safety is first and foremost. At the end of the day, property is property.”
