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On May 17, 2024, at approximately 2:30 a.m., the Winnipeg Police Service responded to a convenience store in the 200 block of St.Mary’s Road for the report of a robbery that had just occurred.
East District General Patrol officers in the area attended and located two patrons outside the store holding down a male suspect involved in the robbery. Officers learned the suspect had discharged a canister of bear spray inside the store during the robbery and that a 22-year-old male employee and both patrons, a 29-year-old male and a 38-year-old male, were suffering from the effects of the spray.
The Major Crimes Unit assumed the investigation and determined the suspect entered the store with his face covered, brandished a canister of bear spray, and demanded money from the employee at the counter. The suspect discharged the canister directly at the 38-year-old patron, who intervened, resulting in a physical struggle. The suspect continued discharging the bear spray as a second patron intervened. Both patrons restrained the suspect until police arrived. The victims suffered no additional injury apart from the bear spray's effects.
A 17-year-old male from Winnipeg has been charged with the following offences:
- Robbery
- Disguise with Intent
- Possession of a Weapon
- Assault with a weapon x 2
- Fail to Comply with Sentence x 4
He was detained in custody.