Boy, 15, charged in spate of GTA armed robberies

A 15-year-old boy is accused of taking part in a series of “takeover-style” armed robberies across the Greater Toronto Area that targeted more than a dozen pharmacies, Toronto police said in a release on Friday.

Police say 14 pharmacies were held up in Toronto, Peel and Halton regions between September 3, 2022 and November 21, 2022.

One financial institution was also targeted, but police say in that instance the group left “empty-handed.”

Police say the suspects would rush into their targeted establishments and demand money and narcotics, fleeing in stolen vehicles.

Investigators add that in some of the robberies guns and knives were used “and other suspects used physical violence to control any shoppers or employees inside the stores.”

On December 28, police arrested a 15-year-old boy from Toronto.

He’s facing a barrage of charges including nine counts of robbery with a firearm, assault with a weapon, uttering death threats, and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

The boy can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Police have not revealed any further information about the outstanding suspects.