A St. Albert business was the target of a robbery attempt, but was thwarted by two bystanders, according to RCMP.
Track 'N Trail, an outdoor clothing and equipment store on Bellerose Dr., was the target of an attempted swarm-style robbery. According to store owner Robert Schilf, this is the second robbery attempt of a similar style in three weeks.
At around 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2024, the time of the store's closing, five masked men approached the store, but "were stopped by two people who pushed them out and chased them down the sidewalk," RCMP Const. Cory Riggs said. Schilf said the first incident occurred on Nov. 29, 2024, and was very similar to the thwarted attempt on Dec. 23.
"They come in, they have hoodies on, they have masks on. Like surgical masks on and they just come in and they scoop as much as they can and run," Schilf said in an interview on Dec. 24, 2024. Although the would be thieves didn't get anything on the Dec. 23 attempt, Schilf and the Track 'N Trail staff weren't as fortunate a few weeks ago.
"The first time this incident happened it was three individuals, and yesterday there was five individuals," he said. "Originally on the first one they got a bunch of product. I had one staff member there that was assaulted as well."
Riggs said that although this type of "smash and grab" incident isn't something they see every day, those kinds of thefts can increase as we get closer to the holiday season.
Track 'N Trail sells outdoor clothing and hiking equipment, along with skiing equipment, climbing equipment, etc. Schilf said that the thieves in the first attempt targeted a high-end brand of outerwear.
Riggs said the incident is still open and under investigation, although the RCMP haven't made any arrests in connection to the attempted theft, and wouldn't speculate on whether the individuals in the two incidents were related.
