Money Doesn’t Buy Security: Shooting Shocks Residents of Upscale Toronto Area
By: Cliff Ritter on June 19, 2014
It’s a sombre day for Avenue Road and Brookdale Avenue residents. Neighbours are reeling after the second attempted armoured car robbery this month.
At around 1 am this morning, witnesses reported hearing loud firecracker-like noises. What they didn’t know was that those noises were the result of a gunfire exchange between would-be bank robbers and a bank security guard.
According to Toronto Police Staff Insp. Mike Earl, around 1:11 this morning an armoured car approached a TD Bank on Avenue Road, making its usual drop. As a guard exited the truck to make his way into the bank, he was ambushed by three male suspects, who opened fire.
He fired back in response, and the gunfire exchange lasted less than a minute. The guard was shot multiple times and is currently in critical condition at Sunnybrook Hospital, suffering from life-threatening injuries, while the second guard in the armoured truck was unharmed.
The suspects were unable to steal any money from the armoured vehicle, and fled the scene – police arrested three individuals later.
In a similar attempt, another armoured truck was attacked on June 4th in the Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue area – that’s two attempted armoured car robberies in as many weeks.
What’s more, this marks North Toronto’s third shooting in only four months – in February, a shooting at Yonge and Lawrence left residents feeling unsafe in an area that’s known more for its million dollar real estate, fancy restaurants and posh shops than for its gun crime.
Incidents like these leave many residents shaken and confused, wondering how such a terrible thing could happen in a neighbourhood like theirs. Just steps away from the site of the February 4th shooting, one home is listed for sale at almost $2 million, while another fourplex mansion is listed at almost $3.8 million.
Home prices in the Avenue Road and Lawrence area, where this morning’s shooting took place, vary from $800,000 to over $2 million.
Residents of upscale areas like these aren’t used to the sound of gunfire in their neighbourhoods. Home prices are higher, in part, due to the general safety of the areas. Now that there’s been three shootings in only the past few months, what does that mean for these neighbourhoods and their residents?
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