Abbotsford Police believe the recent halt in a series of business robberies could be due to the release of a photo showing a suspect in one of them.
The picture, showing a hooded man pointing a real or fake handgun at a gas station attendant during a robbery on Oct. 12 on Sumas Way, was released by police on Nov. 1 and has been posted in newspapers and on websites.
There have been no further robberies since that time.
Const. Ian MacDonald said the man in the photo – taken from video surveillance – has been identified to police through several tips, but has not yet been located.
MacDonald said an image of a suspect in another robbery – at a gas station on Riverside Road on Oct. 6 – has not resulted in any tips, but the picture is not as clear.
He said the halt in activity could be because the man who has been identified is responsible for many of the robberies that have occurred and has now gone into hiding, or other suspects are more conscious that they could find themselves in the same situation and are laying low.
Abbotsford recorded 12 business robberies from Sept. 4 to Oct. 31, and arrests have been made in only four of them. Among the unsolved ones are five at Subway restaurant locations.
Anyone with information about any of the robberies is asked to call Abbotsford Police at 604-859-5225 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.