On Wednesday, October 22 at 4:45 pm, a man entered the Red Apple Food Store in the 32300 block of Marshall Road. He approached the female cashier, produced a handgun and made a demand for cash. The suspect fled from the store, likely to a vehicle parked nearby.
At 5:30 pm, the same man entered an Esso convenience store in the 32300 block of Huntingdon Road and had a brief conversation with the female cashier. The suspect left without making a purchase. However, he returned to the store ten minutes later and again engaged the cashier in conversation. He then suddenly made a demand for cash. He ran eastbound from the store, again, likely to a vehicle parked in the area.
The suspect is described as a Caucasian male 20-30 years of age, standing between 5’8” to 5’10” tall with a medium build. He was dressed in a dark sweatshirt with green designs on the left-front and back, a black baseball cap with light coloured designs on it, and dark sunglasses.
When the suspect arrived at the Esso, he was wearing a white zippered shirt with a dark chevron on the front. He turned his baseball cap backwards when interacting with the clerk
In both the Red Apple Food Store and Esso robberies customers were in the store at same time as the suspect. At those times he appears to be acting as though he is shopping and waiting for the customers to leave. APD Major Crime detectives want to speak to customers who were in both of the stores – the Red Apple from 4:30 to 4:45 pm and the Esso from 5:20 to 5:45 pm.
The Abbotsford Police want to encourage all citizens to report any suspicious behaviour in or around businesses. Since September 16, 2013, there have been 7 business robberies in Abbotsford where a firearm was used. In these robberies, the stores have been empty of customers at the time of the robbery with just a minimal number of staff on site. To date the staff involved in all of the robberies have been female.
Anyone with information about this incident should call the Abbotsford Police Department at 604-859-5225 or text 222973 (abbypd) or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.