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IQALUIT
The Oct. 3 armed robbery of D.J. Specialties was the first ever at the store and the only such robbery in Iqaluit in over a decade, according to RCMP. Months later, police and the store owner are still looking for leads.

It was a typical October morning at D.J. Specialties grocery store in Iqaluit. The 8:30 a.m. rush was winding down when store manager Mona Godin pulled out of the parking lot, leaving two staff running the shop. At 8:50 a.m., a man entered the store wearing a hooded sweater and snowmobile gloves, covering his face and pointing a hunting rifle at the clerk less than one metre from the clerk. It was the clerks third day on the job.

"Our concern is public safety," said Godin, explaining that while it was only a minimal amount of money stolen, the fact that no arrests have been made is concerning. "It's the severity - a man carrying a rifle at 8:50 in the morning and he wasn't caught. He walked down a road with a rifle. I'm certain someone must have seen him."

She said hunters often come into the store with rifles when grabbing smokes, snacks and other supplies for a trip, but they keep them strapped to their back.

Godin said the robber waited outside the store for customers and her to leave. In broad daylight, with video cameras rolling and only a small amount of cash in the register, the assailant spent two minutes in the store. The clerk emptied the register, which contained a small float from that morning, and gave the cash to the robber. The armed man fumbled many of the bills with his gloves and made off with about $40 in his hoodie pocket.

In that time police were alerted and dispatched, arriving shortly after the robber left.

"The staff handled it exactly as they should," said Godin, who hopes the photo will jog Iqaluit residents' memory of the crime. "I'm hoping people will come forward for the safety of the citizens of Iqaluit."

While no suspects have been charged at this point, the investigation is continuing, said RCMP Const. Ian Allen, explaining they still have some investigation options underway.

"It's one of those things that unfortunately will take awhile to have any definite results or answers," he said. "We certainly are still looking into it and we haven't concluded the file at this point."

The security footage and witnesses identify the robber as an Inuk male between 155-160 cm, roughly 64 kg, wearing what was believed to be a Freddy Kruger "Happy 13" sweater, black jeans, black shoes and black snowmobile gloves with blue markings.

"When the file first occurred we had a number of different people identified as suspects and we followed up on all those," said Allen. "Similar names kept coming up and coming up. People were interviewed and questioned."

Anyone with any information is asked to call Crimestoppers. They may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.

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