Maple Leafs forward Marner robbed of SUV by gun-toting trio in Toronto
Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner was robbed of his Range Rover at gunpoint Monday night, drawing sympathy from his teammates and dramatic attention to a surge in violent carjackings around the city.
Marner was outside a movie theatre in Etobicoke, in Toronto’s southwest, with a woman when he was approached by three suspects. Two were armed with guns and one with a knife, according to police.
The three made off with his pricey black Range Rover SUV.
There were no injuries. Marner and his NHL teammates were already downcast after being eliminated in the first round from the Stanley Cup playoffs on Saturday night, and several teammates spoke of Marner’s experience Tuesday during scheduled end-of-season interviews.
“I don’t really even know the full extent of everything that went down but it’s scary,” said centre Jason Spezza. “That’s life, like that’s not hockey, that’s scary. That stuff is jarring, so I’m happy to see that he’s OK.”
Toronto-born defenceman Mark Giordano called it “a really scary situation.”
Centre Auston Matthews said he is thankful no one was injured.
“I’m just happy he’s OK,” Matthews said.
Toronto police did not report Marner was the victim when it released information on the carjacking Monday night, only that it was a man and woman in their 20s. Toronto police spokeswoman Const. Caroline de Kloet said police do not name victims for privacy and safety reasons.
Marner being the victim of the incident outside the Cineplex Cinemas Queensway at Islington Avenue was revealed by the Toronto Sun.
“The suspects did not know it was Marner,” a source told the Sun’s Joe
Warmington. “They were only interested in the Range Rover, which they can quickly sell out of country.” Marner did not resist, as police recommend. “The guys approached wearing masks and said they wanted the vehicle. Mitch said, ‘Go ahead and take it.’”
The Leafs confirmed the incident Tuesday, saying police asked Marner and the team not to comment on the details of the incident “as this is an ongoing investigation.”
On Tuesday, Marner stopped to sign an autograph for a fan greeting arriving players with a “Thank you Leafs” sign. Marner posed for a photo with the fan — driving what appears to be another black Range Rover.
The photo was posted on Instagram with @mapleleafs7 adding: “A big thank you (to Marner) for stopping to say hi today despite what happened last night having his car jacked ... Mitch told me he’s been better.”
Insp. Rich Harris, head of the Toronto police holdup squad, said investigators “are working on this feverishly.”
Toronto and surrounding municipalities face a surge of carjackings.
Harris said his unit has investigated 60 violent carjackings already this year while there were 59 in all of last year.
There was a 20 per cent increase in auto thefts between 2019-2021, police said. On Monday, police in neighbouring York region issued a public warning after carjacking incidents more than doubled since 2019.
Harris said carjackers usually target high-value vehicles that are nearly always sold for profit, often for shipping out of province and overseas.
“These types of crimes can have a lasting impact on victims, whether they are physically injured or not,” Harris said.