A man who held up a Subway restaurant in the 2600 block of McMillan Road on Sunday night is believed to be the same suspect involved in a second armed robbery at that location on Tuesday.
Abbotsford Police are now asking for more witnesses and information in hopes of capturing the culprit, described as Caucasian, in his 40s, 5' 3" to 5' 5" tall, and with a scruffy beard. He was wearing a black hoodie during both robberies.
Both incidents occurred at about 10 p.m. – just before the restaurant closed for the night – and involved the man producing a handgun, demanding cash from an employee, and fleeing on foot. Const. Ian MacDonald said it is not yet known whether the gun used was real or imitation.
Also in both cases, a K9 unit was able to track the suspect's path for only a short distance from the restaurant.
MacDonald said this is because the area of McMillan and Old Yale Road has a high volume of pedestrian and vehicular traffic which concealed the suspect's scent.
On the plus side, MacDonald said the busy residential area means that the potential for witnesses is high. Police are hoping someone saw the man running away from the scene or perhaps riding away on a bicycle or getting into a car.
He said it is unusual for a suspect to target the same business twice in such a short time frame, but the man was likely desperate for drug money.
"He was successful the first time, so he (was) giving it another go."
There were no customers in the restaurant during either incident, but a 22-year-old employee was working during both robberies. She didn't witness the first robbery because she was at the back of the restaurant while a 17-year-old female was at the front.
During the second incident, the woman was at the front of the restaurant, while a 23-year-old male was at the back.
MacDonald said all the workers involved are shaken up, but are otherwise doing well and have been offered counselling support by their company.
He said crime analysts and major crime detectives are continuing to investigate and have compiled a list of possible suspects.
They are also going through surveillance video from the scene and surrounding businesses. MacDonald said they will attempt to identify the suspect internally and will only release images to the public if they are unable to do so.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Abbotsford Police Department at 604-859-5225 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.