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I LEAVE STARBUCKS FOR 2 SECONDS AND SOMEONE FALLS THROUGH THE ROOF #scanbc #metrotown #Vancouver — eye-reese (@s0ft_peach) June 30, 2018

According to the employee, another staffer first noticed the sound of footsteps coming from the ceiling around 2:15 p.m. Assuming it was building maintenance crews, staff did not investigate further.

Around 2:30 p.m., a loud banging sound began to come from a spot inside a wall, originating close to the ceiling at one end of the shop.

The employee said a man then proceeded to kick a hole in the drywall, about 12 feet above the ground and yelled for people to help him. As a manager began to evacuate customers and staff for safety, the man was able to get out from behind the wall, fell to the ground and fled the store.

“He was in the ceiling and he was trying to punch the wall out so he could get out,” said the employee, who said police were called instantly. “He started yelling, ‘Robbery – my girlfriend’s going to kill me.'”

The employee said when staff tried to unlock the washroom, they found a backpack had been jammed up against the door and tools they believe had been used to unscrew the vent cover.

Police and paramedics were called to the store and the man was arrested a short distance away, according to the Starbucks employee.

There is no surveillance footage available at this time.

According to Burnaby RCMP, police were called to the Starbucks just before 3 p.m. on Saturday for the report of a possibly intoxicated man “coming through the roof.” Officers arrested one individual under the Mental Health Act; he was taken to Burnaby General Hospital for treatment.

There will not be any charges recommended.

A request for comment to Starbucks Canada has not yet been returned.

sip@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/stephanie_ip

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