Manitoba

Teen boy, man charged after store break-ins, security guards bear sprayed at Polo Park

A 15-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man have been charged with multiple offences after break-ins at Polo Park mall earlier this week in which several security guards were bear sprayed.

Suspects face 18 charges each after violence at Winnipeg mall Sunday morning, police say

A sign that says "Polo Park"
A teenage boy, 15, and a man, 18, face several charges after several break-ins at Polo Park mall on Sunday. (Walther Bernal/CBC)

A 15-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man have been charged with multiple offences after break-ins at Polo Park mall earlier this week in which several security guards were bear sprayed.

The first break-in happened at a truck in the mall's surface parking lot on Sunday around 9 a.m., Winnipeg police said in a news release Friday. 

A witness confronted two people and called police.

The two then went into the mall, where they broke into a store, according to police, who said several drawers were pried open and a laptop was stolen.

The two then broke into a second store and tried to open a cash box, police said. 

Several security guards were bear-sprayed before the two tried to take off, according to police.

Officers arrested a man and a boy near an entrance to the mall around 9:16 a.m.

An 18-year-old man has been charged with 18 offences related to weapons, break and enter and breaches of court orders. He also had five outstanding arrest warrants for court breaches.

A 15-year-old has also been charged with 18 offences related to weapons, breaking and entering, breaching court orders and a warrant for suspension of his conditional supervision. Both remain in custody, police said.