Gun-toting robber steals $30K worth of Pokémon cards, says ‘thank you’

Armed robbery at Pokémon-card store in Lanaudière

There was an armed robbery at a Pokémon card store in the Lanaudière region of Quebec last month.

Chilling video appears to show a man pointing a gun at the store owner, while customers, including a 10-year-old boy, watch on in shock.

On the morning of June 18th, security video shows a man walk into the MissingNo. store in Saint-Alexis, about 60 kilometres northeast of Montreal, holding what appears to be a firearm.

He wasn’t, however, looking for cash, but for expensive collectibles.

“He came inside, so I step up and I went to him, then he showed me a gun, and he tell to everyone to stand up,” said co-owner Jean-Francois Hetu.

The customers stood paralyzed, while the robber filled a hockey bag with around $30,000 worth of merchandise.

On his way out the door with the gun still in his hand, he said, “Thank you. Have a good night.”

Hetu and co-owner Charles Breault Pariseau, however, weren’t going to let him get away easily.

They burst out of the store with baseball bats, smashing the robber’s taillights and passenger-side window as he sped away.

“We wanted the police to recognize the car,” said Breault-Pariseau.

Their strategy worked.

About two hours later, police arrested Dany El-Aawar, and he’s facing three charges related to the robbery and several more charges related to a string of other robberies, dating back to April.

“He already had the time to take the hockey bag with all the stuff that he he stole from us and give them to another person, so we didn’t get our stuff back,” said Hetu.

Customers at MissingNo. now have to buzz to get in, and there’s a button behind the till that unlocks the front door. Extra security cameras covering every square inch of the store are also now installed.

Bars were installed two years ago when the store first opened, as the value of Pokémon cards began to skyrocket.

The owners are telling their harrowing story as a warning to others in the industry.

“We’re in 2026, so, right now that game is like this,” said Hetu. “You have to take your responsibility and have protection for your customers.”

He said it was only three days after the robbery that he fully realized how dangerous a situation he had been in.