Thieves use hammers to rob 2 Toronto stores within minutes, 3 arrested, police say
Police say 1 store, Chow Tai Fook, was robbed previously on Dec. 16 in Fairview Mall
Three people have been arrested after two stores were robbed on Monday night by thieves with hammers, Toronto police say.
No one was reported injured in the robberies, which occurred minutes apart, according to police.
In the first robbery, five people with hammers robbed a jewelry store in Fairview Mall, police said. Officers were called to the store at about 8:43 p.m.
Const. Cindy Chung, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, said in an email on Monday night that the store is Chow Tai Fook and it was robbed previously on Dec. 16.
Police said the suspects fled on foot with the merchandise but three were arrested.
The three male youths arrested have been charged with robbery with an offensive weapon and disguise, police said. They are due to appear in court Tuesday morning.
Police do not have descriptions of the outstanding suspects and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
There was a heavy police presence in the mall following the robbery.
Chow Tai Fook assistant manager Rima Hasan told CBC Toronto Tuesday that the robberies at the store, along with a slew of others at jewelers around the GTA this month, are making her uneasy.
"I love my job," she said. "[But] I don't want to come to the jewelry store to work [with] what's going on every single week."
In the second robbery, three people with hammers robbed a retail store in the area of Eglinton Avenue West and Venn Crescent, police said. Officers were called to the store at 8:47 p.m.
Police said the suspects in the second robbery fled in a vehicle. All were wearing black masks and hoodies.
Police said the second robbery is being investigated independently.
The two robberies are the latest in a string of similar incidents in the Greater Toronto Area this month. In all of 2024, Toronto police have recorded 48 jewelry store robberies, spokesperson Nadine Ramadan said in an email.
With files from Muriel Draaisma and The Canadian Press