Vancouver police have a 15-year-old boy in custody and are searching for three more suspects after a brazen armed robbery Thursday night.
Investigators say a suspect entered Montecristo Jewellers, located in the Oakridge Centre mall at Cambie St. and 41st Ave., at around 8:30 p.m. posing as a customer and speaking with store staff before pulling out a firearm.
Two other suspects approached the store, attacking a security guard and discharging pepper spray outside. The entire exchange was caught in shocking surveillance footage.
Witness Maria Kruchen, who was accompanying a girls field hockey team from Rossland, B.C., said she heard several shots fired.
"We were just in a store and we heard gunshots," she said. "All of a sudden they told us to get down and get to the back of the room,"
The girls were visibly shaken after the incident, crying and hugging each other outside the shopping centre. "We're from a small town, right? They're not used to this big city action," Kruchen said.
Insp. Eric Grummish said the store's security guard sustained minor injuries, as did a female employee who was struck on the head.
Police arrested one suspect after he allegedly fired another shot outside the mall. Two others made their way to a red van and were driven away by a fourth suspect.
A gun and some merchandise were recovered at the scene.
On Friday afternoon, charges were laid against the 15-year-old, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
He has been charged with assault with a weapon, possession of stolen property over $5,000, possession of a restricted firearm, pointing a firearm and using a firearm in commission of an offence.
He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear in youth court on Oct. 4.
The same store was targeted during a November 2007 heist, in which two men attempted to steal tens of thousands of dollars worth of Rolex watches. Both were caught within a week.
The downtown Montecristo Jewellers location was also robbed at gunpoint in May 2009.
