Two suspects broke into Surplus Herby's on Jan. 8, 2023, taking machetes and archery equipment with them.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Lori Holt

A pair of burglars rushed through a Kamloops surplus store Sunday morning, escaping with machetes, archery equipment and "bear bangers."

Two men managed to break into Surplus Herby's through an overhead door window around 5:30 a.m., Jan. 11. When they got into the store, they grabbed several items before fleeing to a nearby gas station.

"They were in and out within a couple minutes," store manager Maureen Wilsher said.

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One man was seen on surveillance footage briefly trying to break into a cash register, but quickly gave up. One of the suspects also grabbed a $300 fish finder at one point, but dropped that in favour of two $30 machetes, Wilsher said.

"I don't think it's stuff to resell. I think it's stuff they're using," she said.

iNFOnews.ca reached out to Kamloops RCMP on Tuesday, Jan. 10, but spokesperson Cpl. Crystal Evelyn offered no further information.

As of Wednesday morning, police haven't come to the store to investigate and obtain the surveillance footage at the surplus store which has seen its fair share of thefts in the past.

"There are things that we have put in place here because of that," Wilsher said. "We used to have our bolt cutters just out on a shelf in an aisle. Then we realized they had become high-theft items."

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If someone looks like they might use bolt cutters or bear mace for dangerous or illegal purposes, Surplus Herby's staff are told not to sell it.

Bear bangers, which emit a loud, gunshot-like noise to scare off wildlife, have never been a high-theft item before, so Wilsher was surprised to see those taken.

There were even people trying to steal from the store after it opened on Sunday, Wilsher said, adding to frustrations for the staff that day.

"They're starting to get a lot more... in your face," Wilsher said. "You catch them stealing and some language is used and there's a big confrontation."

With the help of surveillance footage at the store and more from the nearby Canco gas station, where the thieves left packaging, she's hoping the burglars will be caught.

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