Nanaimo, B.C. teen hero battles off knife-wielding suspect at parents’ business

A brave young Nanaimo, B.C., teenager stepped up to the plate on Wednesday when his parents’ family business had an unwanted visitor.

In the Harewood neighbourhood of Nanaimo, 14-year-old Jake Currie took immediate action against a knife-wielding suspect who entered his parent’s convenience store around 9 p.m.

“I walk up to the counter and we were face to face,” he told Global News on Friday.

“There’s a bat right here and I reached for it, and that’s when I swing from the left.”

The six-foot-three-inch, 300-pound teenager was able to connect with his swing, sending the suspect’s knife sailing.

“Jake hit him on the right side and the knife flew, like it darted out of his hand and came flying over. (It) landed in a bag behind the locked till area,” said Marcel Trudeau, Jake’s stepfather.

The commotion in the store roused Jake’s parents to check on what was happening.

“I said, ‘Jake what happened?’ And Jake said, ‘Well, he had a knife and told me to give him all the money.’  And so, I told (the suspect) to get out of the store and he finally turned and left,” said Karen Lack, Jake’s mother.

“I am so proud of my son. I could not be prouder as a mom. He kept us all safe.”

The family then reported the incident to Nanaimo RCMP. Nanaimo RCMP did say an investigation is ongoing looking into the incident and that the suspect did match a description from a different robbery at another convenience store.

Nanaimo RCMP was unavailable for an interview in time before publication but did say no arrests have been made in connection to the two robbery incidents.

The family-run store, named Abbies, has only been open for five months, but the surrounding community is rallying around the family and business.

“It’s frustrating. All the people in the community who enjoy shopping at local shops, that’s all put in jeopardy when people decide that they want to rob places and make it less profitable or even more dangerous for somebody to own a small business,” said Gary Robertson, an Abbies customer.

Dozens of concerned residents and business owners held a community safety rally in Nanaimo last Saturday.

They expressed serious concerns about violence and crime in the city.

They demanded swifter action be taken by all three levels of government to mitigate these types of issues in their community.

“There is a long list of things we need to happen fast. We need policy changes, funding requirements, legislation changes… we need widespread changes,” organizer Karen Kuwica said.