Al Peters said his bowling alley has been hit by crime before. But nothing like overnight Tuesday, when police say four masked men with guns forced two female victims, including one of his 19-year-old employees, into the Beazley Bowling Alley in Cole Harbour where they stole some cash.
“We’ve had armed robberies before, break and enters, but nothing as horrific as this,” Peters said from the alley Wednesday afternoon. “These guys were really mean bastards.”
Halifax RCMP is investigating the early morning abduction and robbery, which took place around 1 a.m. Police say four black males wearing bandanas forced the two victims into the alley where one of them worked.
Police say the suspects pointed guns at the victims, forcing the employee to shut off the alarm and open the safe where an undisclosed amount of money was stolen. Peters said they also damaged several video surveillance cameras.
Police say the business closed for the evening at midnight and an employee locked up the store, set the security alarm and drove off with a female friend. The two then went to Porter’s Lake and later pulled into the driveway on the 7000 block of Highway 207. That’s when police say a vehicle pulled up beside them and several men forced the females back into their car. They then made them drive back to the bowling alley, with a car driven by a suspect following them from behind.
After the robbery, police say the suspects drove the two victims to Montague Gold Mines, got out and left the females in the vehicle.
“Pretty scary how the whole situation played out,” Halifax RCMP Cpl. Joe Taplin said. “It looked like they were staking them out.”
Peters spoke with the 19-year-old victim’s father yesterday, and the other female victim, who is believed to be around the same age.
“They put bags over their heads and had guns up to their heads,” Peters said. “Then they talked in the car about shooting them.”
Police are continuing their investigation and no arrests have been made.
