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It would appear my friend made the news:
Carjackers kidnap two drivers
Victims were relived of money, cards, cars, and left handcuffed and blindfolded
By Hicham Safieddine
Toronto Star Staff Reporter
A 17-year old man and a married couple were the victims of a bizarre double kidnapping and car jacking incident in downtown Toronto Friday night, police said.
In both cases the two male victims were confined - handcuffed and blindfolded - in their own vehicles, and driven around for several hours. After being robbed they were later let out of the cars, and, in an odd twist, given cab fare by the suspects to get home.
The unusual crime began when four armed men approached the 17-year-old in the parking lot of his apartment building at High Park Avenue around 9 pm. They gagged him, handcuffed him, and, at gunpoint, shoved him into his 1994 Nissan Maxima car trunk, police added.
Two hours later, with the youth still in cuffed and gagged in the trunk, police say the same gang of carjackers driving around the city, struck again. This time the targets were a man and his wife in their early 50's.
While driving the jacked Nissan, the culprits stopped at 1491 Boulevard street and approached a married couple leaving the Boulevard Club, a well-known members-only recreational facility on Toronto's lakeshore.
The couple, longstanding members of the club, were just leaving a function at the establishment when they were assaulted by the suspects, said club employee Sarah Johnson.
One of the men, armed with a handgun, ordered the husband to get into the back seat of his 2001 silver Lexus. The suspect also stripped the man's wife of her purse, rings and a gold bracelet.
Police reported the husband was struck on the face with a handgun and his eyes and nose were covered with duct tape.
The carjackers then fled the scene with both vehicles, the 17-year-old still bound in the trunk, and the husband handcuffed in the back seat of his.
Around midnight the bandits dumped the young Nissan owner in a laneway in the Bloor West and Bathurst St. area - after providing the hapless youngster with pocket money for a cab ride home.
Several hours later, at about 3 a.m. yesterday, the hijackers abandoned the husband at a construction materials site in the Bloor and Landsowne area and fled with the two cars. But, before departing, they again handed the victim $20 for a cabfare - but only after forcing him to surrender his credit and debit cards and his bank PIN number. The cards were later used to withdraw an unknown amount of money from automatic bank machines, police say.
The victim was left handcuffed and blindfolded.
All three victims sustained minor injuries, police reported. Police are still looking for the stolen vehicles and the suspects.
Sergeant Joe Gataveckas of Toronto police said the heist pulled by the suspects was a rare occurrence.
"The fact that one of the cars is a 1994 Nissan, rather than a fancy new car, suggests that the thieves were not on a pre-planned mission to steal a specific car. At this stage of the investigation, however, the suspects alone can confirm what their true intentions were," Gataveckas said.
Police say the incident should remind motorists to be cautious when entering or leaving their vehicles, especially during dark.
Another unrelated car jacking happened around 12:30 a.m. yesterday (8) near the Scarborough Town Centre, police said.
A 32-year old individual was kicked out of his car near the shopping mall by three men, who then fled with the victim's 2000 four-door Honda, no arrests have been made in this case. No arrests have been made.
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