Surveillance video released Wednesday by York Regional Police in Vaughan, Ontario, shows an allegedly stolen car smashing through the front door entrance of Vaughan Mills Mall.
Once inside the mall, the suspects drove to an electronics store, robbed it and then drove through another door for a quick exit, York Regional Police Chief Clint Whitney said during a press conference posted on YouTube by Global News. The suspects were reportedly driving a black 2011 Audi A4.
The incident began at around 1:10 a.m. Wednesday, according to Global News. “Two suspects in a black Audi drove onto the property of the mall here, and smashed their way through the glass entrance to the property,” Whitney said. “They then proceeded to drive through the mall, and made their way to an electronics store, where they broke into the store and proceeded to take a quantity of electronic devices.”
“The suspects then got back into their vehicle, drove through the mall again, and this time, broke their way through another glass door on the other side of the mall and escaped the mall,” Whitney added.
Police arrived on the scene at around 1:30 a.m., but the suspects had already fled the scene, according to CP24 News.
“Fortunately nobody was harmed in this incident; nonetheless, it’s an audacious crime, and remarkable,” Whitney said.
One woman in particular was apparently all too familiar with the car, according to CP24. Taylor-Anna Kobinger of Laval, Quebec, had reportedly listed her black Audi A4 for sale on Facebeook Marketplace in January. She said a man responded to her ad and came to test drive the car. She took the car out twice for him, and he allegedly managed to steal the car from her during his second visit Jan. 29.
“He was really driving very dangerously and I didn’t feel secure, so I [asked] to change places,” Kobinger said, according to CP24. As she exited the vehicle, the man allegedly hit the gas and took off in her car. (RELATED: Three Teens In A Stolen Mercedes Allegedly Smash Into Police Cars, Causing Serious Injuries To Officers)
The car was found later Wednesday, according to an update posted at 4:41 p.m. by York Regional Police.
Kobinger told CP24 she is happy her car was located, but that she now faces a hefty repair bill because she is not covered by insurance.
“Never in my life have I thought that I would see my car driving into a mall, especially through windows” Kobinger said, according to CP24.
“It is an audacious crime,” Whitney said during the press conference. “It is unacceptable. People work in this mall, there is going to be cleaners, there is going to be security personnel. So we are just fortunate that nobody was hurt and it is property damage only.”
Police have no suspect information to share with the public. The suspects were reportedly wearing hoods which made them difficult to identify.