The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

"A Family Tradition for 128 Years" " PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, Oct. 25, 1994 - 11 SUSPECTS CAPTURED AFTER MASSIVE POLICE HUNT colored 1982 to 1988 Camaro Sandy Ryrie, the force's infor- in Port Perry on the day of mation officer. the robbery or anytime before In particular, police are seek- it. ing the driver of a white van Police are interested in talk- that was parked near the Bank ing to "anyone who saw any- of Montreal just before 7:30 thing at all, said Sgt. Rynie. Thursday night, said Sandy It doesn't matter how insignificant it is. The post will be on site from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Durham Regional Police are who comes forward, said Sgt. seeking assistance from any- one who may have been a wit- Police command Loos post at plaza to seek / robbery witnesses mand post at the Port Perry Plaza which will be on site for ~~ Ryrie. As well, police would like to talk to anyone who saw a red- the remainder of the week to take statements from anyone } t : | b ! : fo RB ATM ss i SE RE A long, tiring night for town of Port Perry by Kelly Lown Port Perry Star The call came in to my house at 7:33p.m....... an armed robbery was in progress at the Bank of Montreal. I sat the phone down, unaware it was more than a robbery, and with my husband and two friends in tow arrived at the scene expecting....... assuming....... and hoping........... it was just another weekly false alarm call. Parking a few spots from a Durham Regional Police cruiser, tire flattened and leaking antifreeze, the magnitude of what had happened did not hit me until I saw a uniformed policeman, blood covering his face and hands, and people yelling "he has been shot." The windshield was shattered and the driver's side window blown out. Ambulance attendants, and two policemen rushed to the scene, where one officer cleaned blood from his fallen comrade. A white towel placed on the fallen officer's head was dripping red blood onto the seat, and floorboard. To the left stood a crowd of about 20 onlookers, oblivious to the pools of blood and shell casings they were standing in. To the right was another fallen officer, a plainclothes policeman, a sleeping bag slung over bis shoulders. Complete strangers comforted him as he lay on the concrete, beside a brick pillar. Sirens wailed through the parking lot as more police, ambulance and fire trucks approached the scene. The faces of those getting out of the vehicles changed from wonderment to shock as they each took in the scene in front of them. A constant chatter ran among the crowd as witnesses told of having to duck under the dashboards of their vehicles, dive behind counters in stores and those who froze as the scene unfolded. Two talked of one bandit shaking a gun at them, another of a bandit staring in her direction, being terrified a bullet was coming her way. Moments later screams of fear from the north end of the plaza were heard. Another person had been shot. When news a woman in an office building across the street had been shot the groans of disbelief started again as rescue crews bolted across the highway. Then more news hit, that indeed the bank manager had been shot first. The news travelled fast throughout the bystanders. Each shooting was more unbelievable than the first, yet as the number grew it became almost expected. Quiet moments were broken only by crying and nervous laughter. One woman, with two small children in tow, was crying, searching desperately for a policeman, someone to let her take her children home. Thirty minutes or more passed, after talking to several witnesses and officers, when the night sky was lit up. Camera flashes, television crews and search lights lit up Port Perry as news of the tragedy reached the rest of the country. As witnesses relayed their stories to detectives, others began the task of putting up yellow and orange crime tape. It was tied to posts, to cars and trucks in the middle of the shootout. As time went on witnesses were sent home and the plaza was blocked off. Crowds then gathered at the corner of Kentucky Fried Chicken, curious about the scene in front of them. Traffic slowed to a crawl on 7A as passersby surveyed the situation. Crowds of people all kept asking "How it could happen. Things like this just don't happen in Port Perry." After a few hours of hysteria, I returned home where I, my husband and three friends sat waiting for news of a capture. After answering dozens of phone calls from out-of-town family and friends and calls with friends at different newspapers, everyone's mind was on what was happening downtown or maybe just outside the door so I headed out. The first stop was to the office to pick up my police scanner. I took a friend along, not wanting to go into the building alone. It is amazing how such a violent incident can make you check over your shoulder and look into doorways in the office that you never would have given a second thought to before. A drive through my subdivision and downtown showed a town obviously in fear. Almost every home had its lights on, both inside and out, and those that didn't showed a dim reflection of a television set through the window. After leaving work my friend and I, with a nagging feeling to see what was going on in other parts of town, decided to take a drive. While going along Union Avenue, a route I have taken hundreds, maybe thousands of times before, I caught myself looking towards the open fields. Upon reaching King Street, we were greeted like I never had been before on a trip down that road. Policemen approached the truck, flashlights piercing, hollering to turn the interior light on . On each side of the truck and in the shadows stood police officers, rifles oised. P After returning home and listening to the latest on the scanner, I returned down to the scene, grabbed my upteenth cup of coffee and joined the "newspaper convention." The throngs of reporters, both print and television, seemed to multiply every time I looked. Each awaited the latest news on the case. Many commented it is the story they always wanted to write, but the story they didn't want to see actually happen. My feeling exactly. I took a quick survey of the media types. More than half had no idea where Port Perry was until tonight... just as I thought.. With each new tip, tired journalists looked over their coffee cups, poised their pens and che their cameras. alcades of media attended the hospital, Major Street and Prince Albert, among other venues as the events unfolded. Each wanting a picture or quote another did not have. After a couple more hours I returned home and tried to go to sleep. It did come around :30. ° In the morning during several phone calls to my home from people wanting to know the latest, almost each one asked "are you not tired, bet you didn't get much sleep?" At first 1 thought no, I didn't get much at all. Then I thought, compared to the families and friends of the victims and the police, yes. Actually I got plenty of sleep thank you. With that in mind I grabbed my camera and notepad and headed back to the crime scene to start where I left off, an early morning press conference with police. : y 2g rv ag Photo courtesy Carl Ferencz - Oshawa Times Mitchell (Mickey) McArthur, 42, of Kingston, Ont., is seen here being escorted to a bail hearing in an Oshawa court on Saturday afternoon. Mitchell and his brother Angus, 28, have been charged with 21 offences, including attempted murder and armed robbery. Agent recovering well after ordeal From preceeding page the window. Upon hearing the explosion caused by the bullet shattering the window, followed by Debbie's cries for help, Mr. Smith cautiously made his way up the stairs to find Ms. Taylor lying in the middle of the floor with blood on her clothing. At this point he had no idea what was unfolding across the street, so keeping low he tried to comfort Ms. Taylor. "She didn't want to be left alone," Mr. Smith told the Star, but he convinced her he was just going to a phone to call the police. By this time he'd already DEBRA-ANN TAYLOR SHOT BY STRAY BULLET looked outside to find out what was going on, but was unable to see anything. Dialing 9-1-1 he was put on hold momentarily before a wom- an responded to his call. With his heart racing, he informed her of the shooting. He was completely surprised when the operator said she knew. "There's an officer down," the operator said, which Mr. Smith interpreted as meaning an offic- er had been sent down to investigate. Looking out the door Mr. Smith told the operator he couldn't see anyone and that he needed an ambulance. When she repeated, "we know, there's an officer down," Mr. Smith finally realized she meant an officer had been shot, and informed her that a woman had also been hit in his office. By now he could see the police cruisers and ambulances arriv- ing across the road, but none came to assist Ms. Taylor who was still lying on the floor. When a customer came to the office, Mr. Smith sent him to get help and a short time later an ambulance arrived and trans- ferred Ms. Taylor to Community Memorial Hospital in Port Perry. She was later transferred to Sunnybrook Medical Health Centre in Toronto where she is