Andrew Peacock was awakened Wednesday by the alarm company which monitors his Salmon Arm gas station.
The company called about 4:30 a.m. Oct. 23 and dispatched the RCMP immediately to the Shell station at the corner of 10th Street SW and the Trans-Canada Highway.
When Peacock arrived, he found that a thief had pried open the front glass door with a metal bar.
Video surveillance, combined with destruction debris, showed what happened and how long it took.
Entering the store, the thief, clad in gloves, a hoody and wearing a balaclava over their face, went over to the automatic teller machine and fired up a gas-powered chop saw.
They cut into the ATM, down the side and across the bottom to open it up. Peacock says sparks were spraying halfway across the store from the metal on metal.
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Peacock has no idea if there was cash inside or how much, as the bank deals with the machine. He said it’s used regularly by people coming across from the casino.
This wasn’t the first time the ATM has been targeted, but this was a “better technique, less invasive,” he says.
In a past attempt, a thief smashed the store’s glass doors.
Although the glass doors will still have to be replaced this time, there was no broken glass to deal with. There were, however, metal filings all over the floor by the ATM. The machine was completely wrecked, including the key pad in front which the thief knocked loose.
The thief was fast, Peacock adds.
“We looked at the cameras and from the time he arrived there and the time he left was about six minutes.”
@SalmonArm
marthawickett@saobserver.net
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