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By Kara Lawrence:
May 26, 2009 12:00am |
TWO gunmen who held up an armoured van in one of Sydney's most exclusive
schools ended up escaping with only $2,900 in tuckshop money.
 The
thieves who ambushed two Armaguard guards at Cranbrook School at Bellevue Hill
yesterday tried to get into the truck to grab more cash - but failed.
It raises the prospect the thieves had mapped the truck's morning run and
believed it was cashed up and an easy target while inside the secluded school
grounds.
The two thieves, armed with guns and wearing balaclavas, struck inside the
large, gated school campus - which has 1,300 students - on Victoria Rd about
11.10am.
Students and teachers had returned to their classes after morning recess when
the armoured truck entered through the front gates and drove about 50m into a
parking area outside the school's administration offices.
One guard remained with the truck while the second went to collect money from
the tuckshop.
It is understood the gunmen threatened him at gunpoint and robbed him of the
cash, and forced both guards to hand over their handguns.
However, their attempts to get into the van were unsuccessful.
Rose Bay Superintendent Allan Sicard confirmed school staff called police -
based only a few hundred metres from the school - and they arrived in time to
spot the getaway car. Police chased the silver sedan briefly before losing it.
The police helicopter Polair was also called in.
School headmaster Jeremy Madin said students and teachers did not witness the
incident but a number of administrative staff had noted the vehicle's
registration number.
"A member of staff saw what was happening and he immediately rang the police
and alerted our acting (school) head," Mr Madin said.
Mr Madin said the school went into lockdown.
"I'm relieved the Armaguard man wasn't hurt and none of the children saw it,"
he said.
Mr Madin said he was perplexed as to why the school's tuckshop takings were
targeted.
The school had cash picked up regularly to save staff being put at risk by
going to a bank. The last pick-up was several days before.
"It wouldn't be very much (money)," he said.
"It would be a matter of a couple of thousand dollars, if it's several days'
worth."
It is the latest - and least successful - of a string of armoured van
robberies in Sydney in recent months.
Since February gunmen have robbed a Chubb van of $1.5 million in North
Sydney, another Chubb van of $3 million in Lane Cove and an Armaguard truck of
$200,000 at Kingsford.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
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