A man was arrested and another remains on the lam from an early morning attempted break-in at a Wardsville bank that led to the discovery of a stolen vehicle and a loaded shotgun.
Middlesex County OPP and the Oneida Nation of the Thames police service were dispatched to Alterna Savings, a bank on Longwoods Road in the Southwest Middlesex community west of London at 3:23 am after reports of someone trying to get into the building.
A photograph posted on social media showed tire tracks leading to the front of the bank and the door smashed in as if someone had driven into it.
Police said the vehicle was gone by the time they arrived, but was spotted on Longwoods Road not long later. Officers used a spike belt to stop the vehicle, but the two people in it took off on foot.
One of them, a 37-year-old London man, was found quickly and taken into custody. The other person hasn’t been arrested.
The vehicle had been reported stolen from Chatham. Police found a loaded shotgun in the vehicle.
The London man is facing seven charges, including four gun-related charges, possession of stolen property, obstructing a peace officer and breaking and entering.
He is in custody waiting for a bail hearing.