Bullets flew at a west-end bank Sunday after customer Carl Fraser made the stunning decision to challenge two gunmen, wrestling with one of them before being shot in the stomach.
“He basically looked right down the barrel of the gun and told the robber he didn’t have the guts to shoot him,” said Rick, another customer who was too frightened to give his last name. “He’s just one of those guys that wasn’t going to take s--- from anybody. It was unbelievable.”
Toronto police are hunting for two dangerous young men after shots were fired during the daytime robbery at a TD Canada Trust branch that also left a bank employee wounded.
It’s the first time in 14 years that a bank in the Toronto area has been robbed with guns blazing, according to Michael Earl, staff inspector of the Toronto police hold-up squad.
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Fraser, a 53-year-old roofer, was in the bank to pay some bills when the drama unfolded, his wife Barbara Anderson told the Star in the waiting room at Sunnybrook hospital, where her husband was recovering after surgery to remove a bullet from his abdomen.
“Carl's the type of man who'd do anything for anyone if they needed help but this . . .” a still shocked Anderson said. “I would have never expected.
“He's just not the kind of guy to run after a robber, you know.”
The robbers — one armed with a semi-automatic handgun, the other brandishing a rifle — stormed into the bank shortly after it opened at noon at the corner of St. Clair Ave. W. and Mould Ave., near Runnymede Rd. Five or six customers were in the bank.
“They took over the bank,” said Earl. “They vaulted the counters, removing money.”
Customer Jose Santos, 51, was in the bank manager’s office with his 17-year-old son and wife when the robbers invaded. “I was very scared because he was waving the gun at everybody,” Santos said.
Glen Gibson, 62, was standing in line waiting for a teller. “They said, ‘Everybody on the floor!’” said Gibson, an Air Canada employee. “I hit the floor and then somebody started saying, ‘I don’t believe that’s a real gun,’ and he grabbed one of the guys and they started struggling and they fell on the floor.”
As the two wrestled, the robber allegedly fired his handgun and the bullet hit a 22-year-old female bank employee in the leg, according to Earl and the customer named Rick, who was standing next to Fraser when he challenged the robbers. “I was focused on staying out of the line of fire,” said Rick, 45.
The robbers then ran out to the bank parking lot with a bag of money. One of them opened the bag and a red cloud exploded from it, covering bills with a red dye. Incredibly, Fraser who earlier challenged the thieves chased after the armed men, confronting them in the parking lot. He again struggled with the robber with the handgun, who then allegedly shot him in the stomach, Earl said.
The robbers hopped into a green, four-door Honda Civic — stolen in Toronto on Saturday night — and sped off. The empty getaway car was found abandoned, hours later by police and will be run through forensic tests in an effort to identify the suspects.
“These people are very armed and very dangerous,” said Earl, who warned residents not to approach them if spotted.
Witnesses said it all happened in a minute or two.
When the robbers peeled out of the parking lot, Rick rushed out of the bank, took off his shirt and applied pressure on Fraser’s wound. Money covered in red dye floated around the parking lot. Fraser was rushed to hospital, where he underwent surgery and is in stable condition.
Earl made clear that confronting armed bank robbers is never a smart thing to do. “Cooperate with the robbers because it’s the money that they’re after,” he told reporters while standing outside of the bank. “We advise the banking industry, employees and customers … to just turn your money over.”
Earl described the thieves as black men between the ages of 21 and 25. One wore a quilted vest and blue jeans, the other had jeans and a baseball cap. Both wore hoodies during the robbery, which was captured on the bank’s video system.
“Very rarely do we have anybody shot at a bank robbery,” Earl said, adding the last shooting he recalls was in January 1999, when bank employee Nancy Kidd, 44, was killed during a hold up in Brampton. Her killer, 22-year-old Marlon Rowe, was convicted of first-degree murder.
“They did get away with some money,” Earl said. “It’s called a takeover style robbery. They just barged right into the bank. It was just a brazen, unbelievable act of cowardice.”
“This is surreal,” said Gibson, the bank customer, speaking to the Star moments before being interviewed by police. “This is like what you see on TV. The lady in front of me, after the gunshot, was crying. And there was smoke, from the gun, I guess. And I was in shock.”
Police cordoned off the bank and parking lot. Two $5 bills smeared in red dye were still on the ground. Someone put rocks on them so they wouldn’t fly away. Police spent the afternoon interviewing customers and employees in the bank as anxious relatives waited outside.
Joseph Bezzina, 63, was having coffee nearby when his wife called him with the news that the bank their daughter worked in had been robbed. “Thank God she’s alright,” said Bezzina, waiting for his 30-year-old daughter, Cheryl, to finish being interviewed by police.
TD spokesperson Mohammed Nakhooda wouldn’t say how much money the robbers got away with.
“We have extremely robust security systems in place,” he said. “Clearly this is an unfortunate incident and situation and we’re going to be working very closely with the police on this investigation.”
Police said both Fraser and the wounded bank employee are expected to recover.
Meanwhile, back at Sunnybrook hospital, Fraser’s wife was still trying to comprehend the events of the day.
“I was just shocked,” Anderson said about seeing police at her door. At first she thought something had happened to her teenage son, but then they delivered the news that her husband had been wounded.
“They told me he wasn't involved in the robbery itself but that he was running after the robbers and he got shot in the stomach,” Anderson said.
Before returning to Fraser’s hospital bedside, Anderson admitted her husband is one to speak his mind.
“He’s outspoken, is one way of putting it,” she said, adding she also thinks he’s “kind of courageous.”
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2013/ ... _bank.html
No big deal really, but this happened in my neighborhood, while I was out and about biking around my area yesterday...
