RCMP cordon off a crime scene using police tape.JOHN LEHMANN
The Canadian Bankers Association has posted a $100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of two armed men who robbed a west-side bank Sunday afternoon and shot a teller and a 54-year-old customer before fleeing.
Dramatic video footage of the two robbers was also released. Its shows the TD Canada Trust customer tackling one of the suspects while the second robber, wielding a handgun, tries to shoot the customer but instead wounds the teller.
At a news conference at police headquarters Monday afternoon, Staff-Insp. Mike Earl of the holdup squad described the robbery as "horrific" and "cowardly," and said it marked the first time in at least 14 years that a Toronto-area bank robbery has led to gunfire.
When the pair entered the bank on St. Clair Avenue, just west of Runnymede, shortly after noon, they ordered everyone inside to get on the floor but the customer, identified as 54-year-old roofer Carl Fraser, wrestled with one of the intruders, police said.
As they struggled, the other robber fired a silver-coloured handgun but the bullet went wild, striking the teller, 22, in the thigh.
As the robbers fled, they stole Mr. Fraser's iPhone, along with an undisclosed amount of cash, and he chased them out to the parking lot where a second shot was fired, this one striking him in the abdomen.
The robbers then fled in a stolen car Honda Civic that has since been recovered, but a major manhunt was under way Monday for the pair, both described as armed and extremely dangerous.
The bullet that struck the teller has since been removed, Staff Insp. Earl said, but Mr. Fraser was hurt much more seriously.
He has undergone surgery to have his spleen removed and his pancreas and a kidney partially removed. His diaphragm and bowel were also damaged.
The robbers were described as black, in their early 20s, both with medium builds. One wore a quilted winter vest over a light-coloured hooded sweatshirt and light-coloured jeans, while the other suspect wore a Blackhawks cap, a black hooded sweatshirt and light blue jeans.
A red-dye package attached to the stolen cash exploded just outside the bank, witnesses also said.
Initially it was believed a rifle was also involved in the robbery, but now police say only the handgun was seen.
"We hope this reward will lead to information on these criminals, so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence," CBA security and intelligence director William Crate said of the $100,000 bounty.
"Bank robberies are a serious issue, not just for law enforcement but for our communities… It's not the money that we are concerned about in the banking industry. There are innocent people involved in these [robberies]… Bank robbery is a personal crime."
Video from the crime scene and further details of the robbery can be seen here. http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=6762&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0