‘It’s very concerning, it’s alarming, it’s frightening’: East Vancouver diners robbed at gunpoint, VPD says

Vancouver police say more than a dozen employees and customers are traumatized after what has been described as a “takeover style robbery” at an East Van café.

The VPD says two men with guns walked into the restaurant in the area of Commercial Drive and Kitchener Street during the brunch rush Sunday around 11 a.m.

The suspects are said to have pointed their guns at staff and customers, as people were told to hand over their phones and other valuables. One person was physically hurt in the incident, police say.

The two suspects then left the area in a car.

“It’s very concerning, it’s alarming, it’s frightening. We have people who are minding their own business out with their friends, their spouses, their kids, their family members, having Sunday brunch, minding their own business on Commercial Drive. The last thing that they expect is for something so violent and so brazen as this to happen,” Sgt. Steve Addison told CityNews.

Few details are available about the suspects, with investigators saying they were wearing hats, hoodies, and gloves during the robbery.

“Incidents like this do happen. They’re rare and when they do happen they obviously cause a lot of concern in the community,” Addison said. “It’s violent, it’s dangerous, it’s criminal, and we’ll do everything that we can to identify the people responsible.”

“We don’t want anything like this to happen again, we don’t want these people to strike again, and we’ll pull out all the stops to figure out who these guys are and to make sure that they’re in custody as soon as we can,” he added.

The VPD is looking to speak with anyone who may have information about what happened. You can contact investigators at 604.717.2541.