Police investigating mall attack as robbery

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This article was published 13/04/2023 (1009 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A business owner says he will be taking precautions after witnessing part of a bear-spray attack at Shoppers Mall on Tuesday afternoon, which police are now investigating as a robbery.

The mall was evacuated and closed for the rest of the day after an employee of Mobile Care was sprayed with bear mace by the suspect, who then fled with a new iPhone.

The business owner, who didn’t want his name to be published, said he will be extra cautious about locking up his display cases and ensuring that employees aren’t working alone considering Tuesday’s events.

“It’s fairly safe most of the time,” he told the Sun. “But this was a shocking incident.”

The man said he has been working at the mall since 2011 yet he hasn’t seen anything like Tuesday’s attack.

“People used to steal sunglasses I’d have on display sometimes, but never attack and then steal something,” he said. “He didn’t have to do that.”

While the man did not directly witness the incident in the Mobile Care store, which is located next to the food court, he did see the suspect making his escape from the mall with the iPhone and weapon in tow.

According to the witness, after the man with the bear mace sprayed the Mobile Care employee in the face and took off with the new phone, he ran down the hallway from the food court. Others in the store ran after the man, but their good deeds went unrewarded as they were also sprayed with mace.

The man then turned down the hall toward the Dollarama store, continuing to spray the eye-tearing substance as he fled from security guards.

Mace filled the hallways of the mall, causing shoppers and employees to cough. The mall was then evacuated and closed to allow the air to clear. While only the one employee was sprayed directly, many others in the mall suffered the effects of the bear mace and were treated by Brandon Fire and Emergency Services.

The Sun contacted the Mobile Care employee, but he declined to comment.

The suspected robber is still at large, according to police. They described the man as approximately six feet tall, wearing a black “Kangol”-style hat turned backward, a loose red hoodie/jacket with “Canada” across the chest, baggy black pants and black loafers with a white sole.

Police are asking anyone with information about the robbery to contact the Brandon Police Service.

This isn’t the only recent instance of bear spray being used in Shoppers Mall. In 2018, two employees were attacked with bear spray while working at the mall. These attacks were part of a string of bear-macing incidents around Brandon at the time.

Morgard, the real estate company that owns Shoppers Mall, declined the Sun’s request for an interview and did not respond to email questions by press time. Mobile Care didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, either.

» gmortfield@brandonsun.com