Facebook Marketplace seller robbed at gunpoint in coffee shop, Vancouver police warn
Vancouver police have issued a public warning after a string of robberies involving Facebook Marketplace users, including one terrifying incident that saw a seller robbed at gunpoint.
Authorities said that robbery took place Monday night inside a coffee shop in the city's Kerrisdale neighbourhood, where a Facebook Marketplace user arranged a meeting to sell a designer watch.
A suspect described as a man in his 30s with a beard walked into the coffee shop, pointed a firearm and took the watch before fleeing into a waiting vehicle, according to police.
Authorities said three robberies involving Facebook Marketplace users have been reported since Saturday, though it's unclear if they are connected.
"The victims in these recent cases seem to have done everything right – they're meeting with someone they didn't know but they arranged to meet in a public location," Sgt. Steve Addison said. "They still fell victim, and that's incredibly concerning for us."
On Saturday evening, a 21-year-old man was trying to sell a used phone through Facebook Marketplace and arranged to meet in Champlain Heights. Authorities said when the seller arrived, he was met by two men who appeared to be in their late teens.
"They robbed him of his phone and hit the victim in the head with a weapon, then attacked him with bear spray," the Vancouver Police Department said in a news release. "The victim was injured and required medical treatment."
Another Facebook Marketplace seller – a man in his 30s – arranged to meet someone in the same neighbourhood to sell two used iPhones around noon on Sunday. A suspect described as a teenage boy grabbed the phones and ran away, police said.
Investigators are still working to determine whether any of the Facebook accounts that were used to trick and ambush sellers were legitimate, but Addison said at least one account has disappeared since the robbery.
Police believe there are likely more victims of similar robberies – whether they involved Facebook Marketplace or a similar service such as Craigslist or Kijiji – and urged anyone who hasn't yet come forward to do so.
While investigators work to determine whether the three recent incidents are related, authorities noted that online buyers and sellers can meet at the police headquarters at 2120 Cambie Street to complete their transactions.
"It's a safe location for people to do their business, and we want people to know it's here and they're more than welcome to use it," Addison said, adding that there are surveillance cameras as well.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.