Thieves Use Bear Spray in Robbery of Vancouver's Oakridge Centre Apple Store

MacRumors · Mar 5, 2013, 09:40 AM

As reported by The Vancouver Sun, three men discharged bear repellant during a robbery of Apple's Oakridge Centre retail store in Vancouver while the store was full of customers last night.

Photo: @CTVBCBRK

Police say three men entered the store shortly before 7:00 PM last night while around 40 customers were in the store, discharging the spray and stealing "a small number of electronics [items]" before fleeing.

Five people were treated at the scene by paramedics for the effects of exposure to the spray. A police dog unit recovered some of the stolen items but the thieves have not yet been found.

It is not known whether there is a link to a robbery in January in the same city, where two men robbed a jewelry store at gunpoint before fleeing 'in a cloud of bear spray'.

Article Link: Thieves Use Bear Spray in Robbery of Vancouver's Oakridge Centre Apple Store

designs216 · Mar 5, 2013, 09:46 AM

On the face of it, the scenario might seem absurd but I guess the crooks can't be charged with armed robbery if they're caught. As it stands, their gambit seems to have paid off.

jonnysods · Mar 5, 2013, 09:52 AM

Bear spray?

Yvan256 · Mar 5, 2013, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonnysods

Bear spray?

This is Canada. Most people don't have guns and bear attacks are the real danger we face every day.

Just kidding. The real danger comes from some of our politicians.

alex00100 · Mar 5, 2013, 09:59 AM

Hey, ive been there!

ghostface147 · Mar 5, 2013, 10:02 AM

You'll get a lead sandwich if you attack me with bear spray, pending it's legal for me to carry at the location.

bigcat318 · Mar 5, 2013, 10:04 AM

Bear mace that guy!

TheGreenBastard · Mar 5, 2013, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghostface147

You'll get a lead sandwich if you attack me with bear spray, pending it's legal for me to carry at the location.

Go act hard somewhere else, you're not fooling anyone here.

jonnysods · Mar 5, 2013, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yvan256

This is Canada. Most people don't have guns and bear attacks are the real danger we face every day.

Just kidding. The real danger comes from some of our politicians.

I live in Ontario. The most danger we face here are from pointed sticks. And they will most likely ban those here soon too!

ghostface147 · Mar 5, 2013, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGreenBastard

Go act hard somewhere else, you're not fooling anyone here.

I've defended myself before with force, so there is no reason why I can't again. Granted it was at home with less chance of hurting bystanders....

turtlez · Mar 5, 2013, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghostface147

I've defended myself before with force, so there is no reason why I can't again. Granted it was at home with less chance of hurting bystanders....

should have used your own strength and not a machine's strength.

kevinfulton.ca · Mar 5, 2013, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghostface147

You'll get a lead sandwich if you attack me with bear spray, pending it's legal for me to carry at the location.

So after being blinded by bear spray you'd just take a gun out and start unloading?

snberk103 · Mar 5, 2013, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by designs216

On the face of it, the scenario might seem absurd but I guess the crooks can't be charged with armed robbery if they're caught. As it stands, their gambit seems to have paid off.

Use of Bear Spray makes this a violent robbery, and as I understand it, puts it into the same category as if a gun had been used.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yvan256

This is Canada. Most people don't have guns and bear attacks are the real danger we face every day.

Just kidding. The real danger comes from some of our politicians.

Actually, we don't have guns... and I am more at risk of a bear attack here on the coast than being shot. Except by a hunter. One of the amazing things about Vancouver is that you can a city bus, for a regular fare, to one of several parks on the North Shore where you can hiking in the wilderness, get lost, and die. Or be attacked by a bear. Happens every year (the getting lost part and dying part, bear attacks are usually rare... mostly because people carry bear spray).

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghostface147

You'll get a lead sandwich if you attack me with bear spray, pending it's legal for me to carry at the location.

It's not legal, and you'll get arrested. If you cause harm to the robber you may even get charged with assault, unless you can show you were actually in imminent danger of being injured or killed.

No one was hurt, some stuff was stolen. The police will probably catch these thieves because they appear to be developing a pattern.

A wise old cop once told me that anyone who isn't an idiot can rob a bank and get away with it... once. It's when you start repeating yourself that the cops catch you.

ghostface147 · Mar 5, 2013, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snberk103

A wise old cop once told me that anyone who isn't an idiot can rob a bank and get away with it... once. It's when you start repeating yourself that the cops catch you.

Well I better get a damn good heist that first time.

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevinfulton.ca

So after being blinded by bear spray you'd just take a gun out and start unloading?

Of course not. That puts others at risk. That's a criminal act in Texas even if you have your license.

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by turtlez

should have used your own strength and not a machine's strength.

Nah. I'd rather be sure to end things.

snberk103 · Mar 5, 2013, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghostface147

Well I better get a damn good heist that first time....

That's almost always the case. The thieves have an inflated vision how much they'll get, and then when the get away with it the first time (it seems) they go back for more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghostface147

...
Nah. I'd rather be sure to end things.

It's just a pity that for every bad guy who gets killed by a gun, about 8 other innocent people are killed by friends and family member during an argument.

Oh, well I guess that is the price of freedom...

Newton70 · Mar 5, 2013, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snberk103

Oh, well I guess that is the price of freedom...

Oh, you must have found Utopia...care to share with the rest of us.

P.S. - Stormwind and Orgrimmar don't count.

High Five Ghost · Mar 5, 2013, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newton70

Oh, you must have found Utopia...care to share with the rest of us.

P.S. - Stormwind and Orgrimmar don't count.

lol

snberk103 · Mar 5, 2013, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newton70

Oh, you must have found Utopia...care to share with the rest of us.

....

It's easy enough to find, it's the immigration process that requires a quest. But it helps if you bilingual in English and French.

In my little corner of utopia it also helps if you know how to shear a sheep...

Plutonius · Mar 5, 2013, 11:25 AM

I thought only skunks sprayed people and how did they get the bear into the store

?

balamw · Mar 5, 2013, 11:27 AM

MOD NOTE: Most of comments in the thread have tended towards a PRSI discussion, so we moved the thread to PRSI.

B

PinkyMacGodess · Mar 5, 2013, 11:33 AM

A bear sprayed 40 people at an Apple store?

rdowns · Mar 5, 2013, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghostface147

You'll get a lead sandwich if you attack me with bear spray, pending it's legal for me to carry at the location.

Yeah, I'm sure you'll be making loads of lead sandwiches (hold the mayo please) as your wriggling around on the floor temporarily blinded by the spray.

eric/ · Mar 5, 2013, 11:39 AM

I think we should ban bear spray

nobody hunts bears, it has no use other than for criminals to cause mayhem. It's not like anybody needs it.

pivo6 · Mar 5, 2013, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eric/

I think we should ban bear spray

nobody hunts bears, it has no use other than for criminals to cause mayhem. It's not like anybody needs it.

I guess you've never been to Minnesota, where there is a bear season for hunting.

eric/ · Mar 5, 2013, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pivo6

I guess you've never been to Minnesota, where there is a bear season for hunting.

Being able to hunt bears isn't worth robberies and people being sprayed with stuff intended for bears.

Mar 5, 2013, 09:40 AM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Thieves Use Bear Spray in Robbery of Vancouver's Oakridge Centre Apple Store As reported by The Vancouver Sun, three men discharged bear repellant during a robbery of Apple's Oakridge Centre retail store in Vancouver while the store was full of customers last night. Photo: @CTVBCBRK Police say three men entered the store shortly before 7:00 PM last night while around 40 customers were in the store, discharging the spray and stealing "a small number of electronics [items]" before fleeing. Five people were treated at the scene by paramedics for the effects of exposure to the spray. A police dog unit recovered some of the stolen items but the thieves have not yet been found. It is not known whether there is a link to a robbery in January in the same city, where two men robbed a jewelry store at gunpoint before fleeing 'in a cloud of bear spray'. Article Link: Thieves Use Bear Spray in Robbery of Vancouver's Oakridge Centre Apple Store
	0

Mar 5, 2013, 09:52 AM	#3
jonnysods macrumors 68020 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Aussie living in Canada	Bear spray? __________________ Sodagorn Media www.sodagorn.com
	1

Mar 5, 2013, 09:59 AM	#5
alex00100 macrumors regular Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Moscow, Russia	Hey, ive been there! __________________ 17" MacBook Pro 2011 2.2GHz 8gb iPad 3 3G 32gb iPhone 5 16gb
	2

Mar 5, 2013, 11:27 AM	#20
balamw Demi-God (Moderator) Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: New England, USA	MOD NOTE: Most of comments in the thread have tended towards a PRSI discussion, so we moved the thread to PRSI. B __________________ MBA (13" 1.7 GHz 128GB), UMBP (15" SD 2.8 GHz), UMB (13" 2.4 GHz), iMac (17" Yonah), 32GB iPad 3 WiFi+LTE, 64 GB iPad WiFi, 32 GB iPhone 5, Airport Extreme
	1

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Mar 5, 2013, 09:46 AM	#2
designs216 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: On the way to M-83	On the face of it, the scenario might seem absurd but I guess the crooks can't be charged with armed robbery if they're caught. As it stands, their gambit seems to have paid off.
	1

Mar 5, 2013, 10:02 AM	#6
ghostface147 macrumors 6502a Join Date: May 2008	You'll get a lead sandwich if you attack me with bear spray, pending it's legal for me to carry at the location.
	5

Mar 5, 2013, 10:04 AM	#7
bigcat318 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Dec 2007	Bear mace that guy!
	2

Mar 5, 2013, 11:25 AM	#19
Plutonius macrumors 68020 Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: New Hampshire	I thought only skunks sprayed people and how did they get the bear into the store ?
	5

Mar 5, 2013, 11:33 AM	#21
PinkyMacGodess macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Midwest America.	A bear sprayed 40 people at an Apple store?
	5

Mar 5, 2013, 11:39 AM	#23
eric/ Guest Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Ohio, United States	I think we should ban bear spray nobody hunts bears, it has no use other than for criminals to cause mayhem. It's not like anybody needs it.
	1