A man who was having lunch when two masked men, armed with hammers, entered the bar at the Wabamun Hotel says he fought them off with fists, a chair and even a ball from a pool table.
Raleigh Edwards told CTV News the two men went straight for the till when they entered the bar Monday at noon.
“The woman working behind the bar ran out and then it was just me and the owner,” Edwards said. “The owner went to stop one of the guys and he got struck with the hammer. During that time I was defending myself from the other robber with a chair.”
Edwards, an excavation company owner doing work on a new gas station in town, says he was able to get in some blows to fight off one of the hammer-wielding men.
“He was trying to get me to give up my wallet but I was able to overcome him.”
A second masked man then joined in and Edwards used whatever he could to defend himself.
“His buddy came after me and I hit him with the chair as well, and it was effective enough to do some damage,” Edwards said. “I ran to the pool table after that and threw the pool ball at them and grabbed a cue.”
Edwards says the two men then fled the bar and he gave chase down the street.
“Their getaway vehicle was able to scoop them before I got close enough to continue the fight.”
The Wabamun Hotel owner confirmed to CTV News a customer he did not know helped fight off the masked men after one of them struck him in the side of the face with a hammer.
The man in the red hoodie and black balaclava was 6’1” or 6’2” with a slim build. The man in the black hoodie and balaclava was about 5’9” with a heavier build.
The two fled in a black, extended cab Chevrolet Silverado being driven by a long-haired woman, RCMP said. The year of the truck could have been 2001 to 2007 and the Alberta license plate may have started with “BTC.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Stony Plain RCMP at 780-968-7267 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Wabamun is located about 70 kilometres west of Edmonton.
With files from CTV Edmonton's David Ewasuk
