A man tried unsuccessfully to break into the Gold Silver Guy location at 43 Station St. in downtown Duncan with a handgun early on Thursday, Feb. 27.
Business owner Jeff Ross said a man was videotaped trying to smash through the glass of the store’s front door with a handgun at approximately 5 a.m. before walking away without successfully stealing anything, but causing about $1,000 damage to the door.
The surveillance video shows a man, whose face is clearly seen, walk by slowly on Station Street in front of the store heading east before walking past the store again heading west a few seconds later.
He then walked up to the front of the store wearing what appears to be a gas mask and struck the glass in the door hard enough to shatter but not break due to special security film in the glass that was installed after previous break-ins at the shop — there have been eight in recent years — and then quickly heading west again when the store’s alarm went off.
Ross, who also owns Gold Silver Guy stores in Nanaimo and Qualicum Beach and has had to deal with 27 such instances at his shops so far in his business career, said he’s concerned that people on the street are now carrying guns to assist in their criminal activities, and he fears for the safety of his staff in Duncan.
“All the break-ins in Duncan so far have been at night when no one is in the store, but now I’m afraid of a robbery in the daylight with someone using a gun while my staff are there,” he said.
“On top of the other security measures at the store, I’m now looking to secure the entrance and have people buzzed in and out by my staff.”
The last break in at the Gold Silver Guy store in Duncan was in July, 2024, when a man pushed a shopping cart up the sidewalk in front of the store in the early hours of the morning before hauling out an axe and smashing through the front window.
There was only costume jewelry in the window and the man just took one trinket that was worth not more than $3 and left, leaving approximately $1,000 in damage to the window.
Ross doesn’t have insurance anymore to cover his losses after such incidents because the insurance companies have determined that, after so many break ins, he’s considered too much of a risk, so he’s on the hook for the damages to his door from the attempted break in on Feb. 27.
“I haven’t heard if they have caught this guy yet,” he said. “I don’t blame the police as they are doing the best they can.”
The RCMP confirmed that the police responded to this incident and are actively investigating.
