Toronto police were called to two separate robberies in a 24-hour span: a pawn shop holdup that led to a police chase and a violent gas station stickup in which an attendant was shot.

Two men walked into Cash Master Pawn Shop at 1690 Wilson Ave., just west of Jane Street, at about 10 a.m. Wednesday claiming they were armed.

The men bound and gagged one female employee with duct tape and demanded the male owner and another employee hand over jewelry and cash.

After being given an unknown quantity of jewelry and money, the suspects ran out of the store but dropped some of the valuables in the process, police said.

The men jumped into a waiting minivan, which was reported stolen, and a female accomplice drove away.

Police happened to be in the plaza parking, and followed the vehicle north on Jane, but the van's driver crashed into a fence. The three suspects then ran into an apartment complex at 2755 Jane St., at Grandravine Drive.

Police cordoned off the building and temporarily locked down two nearby schools and a community centre. Heavily armed Emergency Task Force officers used a battering ram to knock down the door of a ground floor unit. They located the male suspects, but the 25-year-old woman had managed to get away. She later surrendered to police.

No one was hurt in the ordeal, which lasted about 90 minutes, but the store owner's wife said the ordeal was "really scary."

"In my heart I really want him to be out of the business because it's putting me in a position where it makes me concerned every minute to see if he's coming home safe," Kavita Jeyaratnam said of her husband Vimal.

"I have two kids and I have to be concerned about that."

The male suspects, who are in their early 20s, and the woman were charged with various robbery-related offences.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident overnight, a gas station attendant was shot in the foot during a holdup.

Police said two armed robbers entered a gas station on Scarlett Road, south of Eglinton Avenue, at about 4 a.m.

After receiving an unknown quantity of cash and cigars, one of the men shot the clerk before fleeing the scene. Police aren't sure why he opened fire on the compliant employee.

The victim was taken to hospital and is expected to be alright. Police are still looking for the two robbery suspects.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-2200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).

With a report from CTV Toronto's Jim Junkin