Holyrood bank smashed as stolen backhoe used for robbery; 4 arrested
The front entrance and much of the wall of the RBC branch in Holyrood has been demolished. (Ted Dillon/CBC)
The Holyrood branch of the Royal Bank of Canada was almost levelled early Monday when thieves used a stolen backhoe and other heavy equipment to break in and nab a bank machine, police said.
The RCMP found an abandoned backhoe at the RBC branch — and a heavily damaged bank — when officers arrived at the scene on the Conception Bay Highway early Monday morning.
The force was called around 3:45 a.m. NT.
The RCMP alerted the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary for assistance in finding suspects, seen using a dump truck and a pickup truck.
The RNC halted both vehicles near Paddy's Pond, on the outskirts of St. John's, on the Trans-Canada Highway.
Four individuals were arrested.
The RBC branch in Holyrood was damaged heavily. The RCMP was on scene early Monday morning. (Ted Dillon/CBC)
The RCMP said the backhoe had been stolen from a business in Holyrood.
WATCH: See the aftermath of an alleged robbery in Holyrood:
The crime occurred on a busy stretch of the highway, amid a high density of businesses, pharmacies, restaurants and homes.
"The front of the building is completely gone. You can see right through building from the front … right through to the back window," Tracy Morrell, who works near the scene, told Radio-Canada Tuesday morning.
"It's a mess. A mess. There's wood, there's debris, there's a steel beam, actually that's bent. It's a disaster."
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