| Harvey Specter | 05-04-2009 08:56 PM |
Premier evacuated from Vancouver hotel during gun scare
http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465...n?size=620x400 Quote:
VANCOUVER — Premier Gordon Campbell got a jarring and up-close taste of Vancouver's urban crime wave Monday when a woman with a gun ran by a downtown luxury hotel, prompting an evacuation procedure by his bodyguards.
"Get up, get up," his RCMP bodyguard yelled, stopping Campbell in mid-sentence as he spoke to The Vancouver Sun.
The premier looked up, somewhat surprised by the interruption. His bodyguard crouched low and moved toward him.
Campbell didn't move and glanced around the empty room.
Then the constable spoke louder and pointed to an empty dining room.
"Go in here, go in here," he ordered. The premier hesitated a little longer, wondering what the fuss was.
"There's a man with a gun," said the bodyguard.
That got his attention.
"Go now," yelled his bodyguard, as Campbell began to scramble. "Go now."
The constable then waved Campbell toward a nearby private dining room.
"Over here," said the bodyguard.
Campbell's press secretary, Brigitte Anderson, was left at the table with a Sun columnist. Sirens began to wail. Police cars sped by the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel and police officers began to run up and down the street.
"Brigitte," the bodyguard yelled from across the room, "You can come here, too."
She ran over to Campbell, who was hidden behind a wall. After a few seconds, the columnist was invite over.
"Sir, you can come, too," said the bodyguard.
The premier and the others spent about a minute in the corner of the sealed off room.
Then the RCMP began to move Campbell, who was quiet and seemingly unrattled, along with Anderson, to the service entrance of the restaurant.
"This area is not secure," they said, hustling the two of them out of the restaurant.
The premier was not a target in the incident. It was unclear precisely what had occurred but it appears the suspect was connected to a jewelry heist in the downtown.
"A woman with a gun came running by," one of the Waterfront Hotel's doorman explained. "Then she jumped into a taxi and drove away."
Lindsey Houghton, a spokesperson for the Vancouver police, said officers responded to a robbery minutes earlier at Montecristo Jewellers on West Hastings Street between Howe and Hornby streets, less than two blocks from the hotel.
Houghton said there were multiple suspects who robbed the jewellers and made off with "a large quantity of merchandise."
"There are multiple suspects involved, at least two," said Houghton. "Police are down there right now interviewing witnesses and store staff."
Houghton could not confirm that a weapon was brandished, but did say that there were no injuries and the victims and staff at the store are all safe.
Threatening situations are not new to the B.C. premier. In 2002, when the government was cutting government jobs and programs to balance the provincial budget, threats were made against Campbell and some of his cabinet minister.
RCMP beefed up security. Security was increased again in 2007 after anti-Olympic protesters raided his office.
Three members of the Anti-Poverty Committee were arrested after they entered the the provincial cabinet office in downtown Vancouver to protest the 2010 Olympics. The protesters were not armed. However, glimpses of the RCMP's response to such threats are rare.
The incidents are rarely commented on.
mcernetig@vancouversun.com
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