bike robbery toronto

Police release dramatic video of attempted bike robbery in downtown Toronto

Toronto cyclists are some of the toughest people you'll ever meet in terms of sheer courage and survival instincts. In a city rife with bad drivers, pot holes, streetcar tracks and massive industrial trucks, they kind of have to be.

Two would-be bike thieves recently learned this the hard (and embarrassing) way after trying to swipe a local man's wheels and getting beat up instead.

Toronto Police just released surveillance camera footage from the incident, which took place in the Bathurst Street and Adelaide Street West area on Saturday, April 17.

The clip starts with two hooded individuals — one holding a cigarette in his mouth — struggling to remove a road bike from the lobby of a condo building (the OneEleven Condos at 111 Bathurst).

According to police, the suspects had approached the 39-year-old cyclist and "attempted to take the victim's bicycle from him after making multiple demands."

The tough-as-nails bike rider refused, "resulting in him being assaulted during the course of the struggle."

While he doesn't overtly strike the bumbling crooks, the cyclist does tackle one to the ground so that he can take his property back. Both suspects can then be seen punching the victim and pushing him into the corner of the elevator.

Seemingly unfazed, the cyclist pushes them away while holding on to his bike. He even points to one suspect's cellphone on the floor after they had dropped it.

Police say that the men "let go of the bike and immediately fled the area following the interaction," but their botched attempt at bike theft is far from behind them: Police are now seeking the public’s assistance in identifying both suspects as part of a robbery investigation.

You can watch the full video here, courtesy of the Toronto Police Service, which asks anyone with information to contact them at 416-808-1400 or through Crime Stoppers anonymously.

The first suspect is described as a Black male, 18-22 years old, 5'6"-5'7", approximately 140 lbs, with brown eyes, black hair and a black trimmed moustache.

"He was wearing a navy blue hooded sweater with white patterned sleeves and a black vest over top, black pants, green camouflage baseball cap, red sneakers, and carrying a black/red Goodlife gym bag," write police of the suspect's outfit at the time of the incident.

The second man is described as 18-22 years old, 5'7"-5'8", around 160 lbs, with brown eyes, black hair and a goatee. At the time of the attempted robbery, he was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, a green winter coat, black Champion sweat pants, and red/orange Nike Air Max Tn sneakers.

Lead photo by

Toronto Police Service


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