Manitoba

Loaded sawed-off shotgun pointed at woman during Winnipeg robbery, police say

A 25-year-old man is charged after a violent armed robbery in Winnipeg on Tuesday, police say.

Man, 25, faces charges including robbery with firearm, carrying concealed weapon

A man pointed a loaded sawed-off shotgun at a woman and demanded her personal belongings on Tuesday in Winnipeg, police say. (Cliff Simpson/CBC)

A 25-year-old man has been charged after a violent armed robbery in Winnipeg on Tuesday, police say.

A woman, 25, was on the 1400 block of Main Street around 1:20 a.m. when she was confronted by a man demanding she hand over her personal property.

When she refused, the man pulled out a sawed-off shotgun and pointed it at her.

Police said the man then hit the woman with the shotgun, took her bag and fled.

Winnipeg police Const. Rob Carver said officers, with the help of the police helicopter, quickly found a man a few blocks away. The shotgun and the woman's property were found during the arrest, he said.

"This was a loaded sawed-off shotgun, easily the potential to have killed this victim, easily, and for what?" Carver said.

"I don't really know what you do with a stolen cellphone and it was a small amount of personal property. It just makes no sense and it had the potential, again, to have a tragedy here really for nothing."

The man faces a slew of charges, including robbery with a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.

Carver said the suspect is well-known to police.