Cariboo Shopping Centre was the site ofthe dramatic 1956 shootottt. This picture mas takm from Lougheed and North Road, looking north towards Austin Avenue.
1956
SHOOTOUT AT CARIBOO TRAIL SHOPPING CENTRE
The Cariboo Trail Hotel has alwavs had an aura of the frontier, but on April 3, 1956, it '~as the nearby Royal Bank of Canada that was the scene of a Wild-Weststyle shootout. Shortly after the bank opened, three masked men armed with re,·oh·ers and a sawed-off shotgun entered the bank; their getaway driver waited outside in a panel truck. The bank manager, Joseph Howat, pressed a concealed alarm button that alerted Burnaby RCMP, who in turn called the Maillardville detachment. Within minutes, MaillardvilJe constables Bud Johnstone, AJ Beach and Bert Schroeder arrived on the scene. JohnstOne, the first to go through the door, was shot. He fell to the ground, bleeding from several wounds. But the 29-ycar-old constabJe managed to get up and chase two of the bandits outside. During the following exchange of gunfire, one bandit was killed and another wounded. Two of the robbers surrendered, while the driver took off up North Road. He abandoned his truck on
Cpl. Bttd ]ohmtonc at home with family- daz1-ghter Paige, rvife Edith attd father Lester - after his release from hospital.
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