The world is a weird place. Electronics are high-dollar items, and as such, are of course prime targets for criminals to pilfer and sell on the black market. But while smash-and-grab capers and the occasional break-in are far from out of the ordinary, spraying people with bear repellent has to be an entirely new method.
According to Canada's National Post, a crew of thieves walked into an Apple Store in Vancouver, and sprayed 40 people with a cayenne-pepper infused spray meant to ward off bears. The three male suspects then swiped a "small number of electronics" before leaving the scene.
Five people were treated by paramedics after coming into contact with the foul-smelling spray. Unfortunately, the three unidentified men are still at large, despite the Vancouver Police Department's best efforts to apprehend them.
Apple Stores have faced their share of burglaries over the years, including a 2009 incident where criminals cleared out an entire New Jersey location in just 31 seconds. On New Year's Eve, the Paris Apple Store was robbed of over $1 million worth of goods.
Thankfully, it sounds like the thieves in Vancouver only got away with the bear necessities.
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Image Source: Quickmeme
nbrowser
March 05, 2013 at 6:25pm
Heard about it on the news this morning, live in the Vancouver area myself, Reports on the news do indicate a portion of the goods stolen have been recovered and knowing the Vancouver Police Service, it won't take them long to arrest the suspects.
However since this is the province of British Columbia, the police lack the ability to press charges having to get charges laid by the Crown Attorney (District Attorney for the Americans). And our weak justice industry(System) will more than likely give the crooks a slap on the wrists as usual.
nbrowser
March 06, 2013 at 7:45pm
Oh yeah, happens a lot in property crime, also in drinking/driving death cases, woman killed a young girl a few years back, pleaded guilty, got a minimal sentence and is now in the process of taking an appeal of the sentence to the Supreme Court...and by the way, Bear Spray more commonly referred to as Pepper Spray, is used more often in robberies similar to this than you'd think.
