A man has been charged after a worker delivering a parcel was hit with bear spray and carjacked Monday afternoon.
The incident happened on the 500 block of Harbison Avenue shortly before 1:30 p.m. The man was treated for effects of the spray.
Shortly after the carjacking, several people reported seeing a vehicle matching the description driving erratically in the area. Officers found the stolen vehicle in a back lane near Bowman Avenue, east of Watt Street. Police arrested a man after a short foot chase.
(John Woods / The Canadian Press files)
The man, 18, has been charged with robbery, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon and failing to comply with a probation order.
Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Stephen Spencer said it’s a concern to see a delivery driver attacked while doing their job.
“It’s very concerning, and think about how many people are delivering packages every day,” he said.
Last week, a woman was carjacked after leaving a church on William Avenue. That incident happened on the night of Oct. 27. A 45-year-old woman was run over by a carjacker downtown on the afternoon of Oct. 26 and suffered “significant” injuries when the fleeing carjacker ran over her with her truck.
Spencer noted reported carjackings are down since a major spike in 2022.
In 2019, 54 carjackings were reported from January to the end of September. That number increased to 69 in the same period in 2020 and decreased to 68 in 2021. The number for that time period spiked to 102 in 2022, then dropped to 67 last year and decreased further this year, to 56.
With a number of carjackings in recent weeks, the year-to-date figure for 2024 is near 60.
fpcity@freepress.mb.ca