‘Somebody just robbed you’
A motel patron tackled the robber, they scuffled, but the masked man escaped and ran away
“I’ve always felt safe here …but this kind of shakes up that mentality a little bit,” Janice Holmes, Summerside motel owner
Janice Holmes was folding laundry in the basement of her Summerside motel Thursday morning when she heard a commotion upstairs.
Her stomach sank when someone yelled down to her, “You’d better come up here, somebody just robbed you!”
Around 11 a.m., a heavy-set man wearing a ski mask ran into the offices of the Summerside Motel & Cottages and demanded cash from the clerk, who opened the till.
Meanwhile, a guest at the motel had witnessed the man enter the building and went to check out the situation. When he saw what was happening, the patron tackled the robber, they scuffled, but the masked man escaped and ran.
The guest and a housekeeper chased the suspect for a while, but they lost him. In the meantime, another guest had called Summerside Police officers, who started a search of the area.
Police later stated that a second motel, on Water Street, had been robbed at 4:50 a.m. the same day. They did not specify which establishment and there are several on Water Street.
The owners of the second motel were awakened by a lone male ringing their doorbell. Once he was let into the office area, he demanded money and fled with a small amount of cash.
The suspect in this incident was not wearing a mask. Police are not saying whether they suspect the two motel robberies are related.
No one was injured and no weapon was used in either incident.
Holmes said she and her husband have owned the Summerside motel for 17 years, ever since they moved here from Ottawa, but have never had an incident like this.
“I’ve always felt safe here …but this kind of shakes up that mentality a little bit,” said Holmes.
“Crimes happen but you always think they happen to somebody else.”
Anyone with any information in relation to any of these incidents is asked to contact Summerside Police at 902-432-1201 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-2228477.