chicot60
02-14-2011, 04:38 AM
CTV.ca News Staff
Would-be thieves in Montreal botched their attempt to steal an ATM Sunday after the front-end loader they used to break into a shopping mall hit a water pipe and was deluged.
Police say the thief or thieves stole the loader from an industrial park in Pointe-aux-Trembles early Sunday morning, and then drove the vehicle to a National Bank branch located in a nearby shopping plaza on Rene-Levesque Street.
The driver smashed through the branch wall with the intent to haul away the bank's ATM. However, the front-loader hit a water pipe and the deluge shut down its engine.
"They made a lot of damage to the building," Montreal Police Const. Olivier Lapointe told CTV Montreal. "They even broke a pipe, so there was a lot of water that also caused some damage to the shopping centre."
Lapointe said the thief or thieves were forced to flee the scene without the ATM, or the front loader.
Crews spent hours clearing debris in an attempt to spare the plaza further damage, and the bizarre scene attracted curious onlookers.
"I haven't seen anything like that at all," one man told CTV. "It's funny."
The front loader was eventually dislodged and returned to its owner.
Police are checking security camera footage and dusting the scene for fingerprints.
With a report from CTV Montreal's Derek Conlon
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20110213/quebec-botched-atm-heist-110213/
Would-be thieves in Montreal botched their attempt to steal an ATM Sunday after the front-end loader they used to break into a shopping mall hit a water pipe and was deluged.
Police say the thief or thieves stole the loader from an industrial park in Pointe-aux-Trembles early Sunday morning, and then drove the vehicle to a National Bank branch located in a nearby shopping plaza on Rene-Levesque Street.
The driver smashed through the branch wall with the intent to haul away the bank's ATM. However, the front-loader hit a water pipe and the deluge shut down its engine.
"They made a lot of damage to the building," Montreal Police Const. Olivier Lapointe told CTV Montreal. "They even broke a pipe, so there was a lot of water that also caused some damage to the shopping centre."
Lapointe said the thief or thieves were forced to flee the scene without the ATM, or the front loader.
Crews spent hours clearing debris in an attempt to spare the plaza further damage, and the bizarre scene attracted curious onlookers.
"I haven't seen anything like that at all," one man told CTV. "It's funny."
The front loader was eventually dislodged and returned to its owner.
Police are checking security camera footage and dusting the scene for fingerprints.
With a report from CTV Montreal's Derek Conlon
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20110213/quebec-botched-atm-heist-110213/