Boxing Day Shoppers Pepper Sprayed at Polo Park

Dec. 26, 2011 at 4:32 pm CDT in News Comments (4)

Emergency personnel respond to a pepper spray attack at Polo Park Shopping Centre on Monday, December 26, 2011. (MARC EVANS / CHRISD.CA)

WINNIPEG — Boxing Day shopping was disrupted Monday afternoon after someone released pepper spray into the air at Polo Park Shopping Centre.

The incident happened at about 2:30 p.m. near Sears, resulting in three people being sent to hospital. Winnipeg police responded and cordoned off the area for about an hour while they investigated. No one was seriously injured and police haven’t yet made any arrests.

According to a witness at the scene, one man fired pepper spray at another man inside the mall before they both left the premises.

A similar pepper spray incident happened during Black Friday in the U.S., where a woman tried to disperse the crowd in front of her to gain access to a video game at a Walmart in Porter Ranch, California.

This wasn’t the only incident to rile city shoppers today. Earlier reports said people were shoving and trampling each other at the Best Buy on St. James Street. The electronics retailer opened its doors at 6 a.m. to a large crowd.

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  • Biff

    I was there at the time. The smell lingered throughout that wing of the mall for quite a while afterwards… That scratchy, burning sensation at the back of your throat… Ugh.

  • http://profiles.google.com/reedsolomon.matr1x Reed Solomon

    im glad i didn’t go to that side of the mall.

  • Roman

    Good thing I do not do something like the Boxing Day shopping madness.. did not want to get stampeded on or so and that incident with the pepper spray make me shake my head at what is happening, folks fighting to get the best deals and buying up anything in a big way.. yikesss… 

  • GoDonkey

    It’s like were trying to emulate the dumb ppl to the south of us. First, with Black Friday a stupid shopping event/day/holiday that had go on in the states for year and now it’s made it’s way up here. And now with the same Boxing Day stupidity.

    I don’t really want to buy anything but that deal OMG THAT DEAL!!! 40% off! are you serious I can’t pass that deal up. 
    stupidity at it’s finest.

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