Police tape demarking a crime scene.JOHN LEHMANN
Ten people including two juveniles have been arrested in connection with a string of hold-ups that included an armed robbery at an Etobicoke high school Thursday afternoon and two other robberies later the same day, at a pair of convenience stores.
The quick arrests came after police spotted the stolen car in which four suspects drove to Thistletown Collegiate Institute in Rexdale, robbed students of their cellphones and fired a shot at one of the students before fleeing.
No names or charges were announced but police said they were confident the gunman had been apprehended.
In all, 11 search warrants have been issued and 21 charges laid so far.
The robberies date back to January, Staff-Insp. Mike Earl of the hold-up squad told reporters at the 23 Division police station, and further arrests are anticipated.
No injuries were incurred during the lunchtime incident at Thistletown Collegiate but it left students badly shaken.
The four suspects drove up to the collegiate in Rexdale, near Islington Avenue and Elmhurst Drive, at about 12:10 p.m in their stolen vehicle – a blue, four-door 2006 Toyota.
Upon arrival one of them made his way into the school with a handgun, stole cellphones from two female students and then tried to rob at least one male student, police said.
Gunfire erupted when the male student ran away from his attacker, exiting the school, and a shot was fired at him, striking a car.
The gang then drove away. The car they were riding in had been stolen two days earlier, police said.
It was spotted, parked, and placed under surveillance Thursday night. The arrests were made when several of the suspects returned to it, police said.
The school was placed in lockdown mode until shortly after 3 p.m., as worried parents converged at the scene.