A mace-wielding thief who made off with a jacket from a Sahali store has attracted the attention of Kamloops Mounties.
At about 5 p.m. on Thursday (Nov. 5), an employee of the Atmosphere store in the Summit Shopping Centre in the 1100-block of Columbia Street saw a man try to leave with a coat without paying for it.
When the staff member confronted the man, police say, a struggle ensued and the suspect pulled out a large canister of bear spray and aimed it at the employee.
“Fortunately, the bear spray did not deploy and the male ran from the business with the jacket,” RCMP Sgt. Darren Michels said.
The employee did not sustain serious injuries, Michels said, adding police will be releasing a photo of the suspect as they attempt to track him down.
The man is white, stands about 5-foot-9, weighs about 160 pounds and was wearing a camouflage baseball cap, a grey hoodie, a red T-shirt, jeans and black and white runners. He has an eyebrow piercing over one eye and a blue/green tattoo of two lines over his left eye. He was carrying a black duffle bag with “A+ Teacher” visible on the outside.
Investigators have learned the suspect may have committed other theofts in the area, Michels said, adding that if there are other businesses that have experienced thefts by a male matching this decription to report it to police.
Anyone who may have been tagreted or with any information on the identity of the suspect atthe Atmosphere store is asked to call Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
