Bird Takes Off With Knife From Crime Scene

Cops had to chase city's 'most notorious crow'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 26, 2016 1:49 AM CDT
Bird Takes Off With Knife From Crime Scene
Stock photo, not 'Canuck.'   (Shutterstock)

The CBC describes Canuck as "Vancouver's most notorious crow," and it's not hard to see why: After cops in the Canadian city shot and injured a man who confronted them with a knife on Tuesday, a crow believed to be Canuck—because of a distinctive red band on its leg and countless similar escapades in the past—took off with the weapon from the crime scene. Police say the crow picked up the knife from behind police tape and only dropped it after it had been chased for around 20 feet. The crow also tried to steal a pair of glasses and equipment belonging to a TV news crew, the Vancouver Courier reports.

Witnesses say the suspect, who was treated for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, set a vehicle on fire before police arrived, and Canuck perched on the burnt-out car. "The crow was persistent, but the knife was eventually gathered as evidence," a Vancouver police officer tells the CBC. Courier reporter Mike Howell says in more than 20 years of reporting from crime scenes, he's never seen anything like it. A Facebook page dedicated to Canuck chronicles earlier incidents, including a ride on mass transit and an attack on a cyclist. In a CBC story on the bird last year, an area resident complained that the bird was known for stealing "packs of cigarettes, rolling papers, lighters, change, keys ... pretty much anything he can get his hands on." (Seattle has some famous crows, too.)

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