12-year-old charged after armed robbery at Dartmouth store using pellet gun, police say
A 12-year-old boy is facing charges following an armed robbery at a convenience store in Dartmouth, N.S.
Just after 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, police responded to a report of a robbery at the Highfield Variety Store, located at 94 Highfield Park Drive.
Chad Vincent was working behind the counter at the time.
Vincent told CTV News someone entered the store and was acting suspiciously. At first, the person asked if he could wait inside the store and asked whether the other person in the store was a customer or a worker. He left but soon returned.
“And that’s when he pulled out a gun and he pointed to the customer and asked him to leave the store or he was going to shoot him,” Vincent said.
Vincent said as the customer left, he managed to push a panic button to alert police.
Vincent describes how then, the gun was turned toward him.
“He came to the back of the counter where I was. He asked me to fill my bag up with money, which I did. As I was doing that he grabbed another bag and started filling a bag with cigarette tubes, which I’m assuming he thought were cartons of smokes,” Vincent said.
“He had the gun pointed into my skull and he was like, 'If you move, I will shoot,'” he said.
As another customer came to the door, Vincent tried to warn them what was going on but said the doorbell kept ringing.
It was then Vincent said he was shot at but not hit.
“Which then I realized that it was actually a pellet gun and I heard the pellet bounce on the floor towards me,” he said.
Halifax Regional Police arrived at the scene within minutes and made an arrest.
Police have charged the boy with numerous offences including robbery, uttering threats and assault with a weapon, along with multiple weapons charges. Police also confirm with CTV News the weapon was a pellet gun.
The owner of Highfield Variety Store said this is the third robbery his business has experienced in recent weeks.
Another worker, Michelle Donovan, was also robbed at gunpoint last week.
“Last night, there was only one person. The night that I got robbed there was two of them,” she said.
At the store on Friday, regulars offered their support for a business that’s been operating for more than 30 years.
The 12-year-old boy is scheduled to appear in youth court Feb. 2 for an election and plea.
“I hope he gets the help he needs,” Vincent said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
As GC Strategies partner is admonished by MPs, RCMP confirms search warrant executed
The RCMP confirmed Wednesday it had executed a search warrant at an address registered to GC Strategies. This development comes as MPs are enacting an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power, summoning one of its contractors to appear before the House of Commons to be admonished publicly for failing to answer questions related to the ArriveCan app.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.