An incident at Bolen Books at Hillside mall on Saturday resulted in a heavy presence of emergency responders and the shop closing up more than three hours early.
Witness reports state that a shoplifter went on a “pepper-spray rampage” after being apprehended by a security guard.
Bolen Books general manager Colin Holt confirmed that an incident with a shoplifter and the shop’s security did happen on Sept. 15, but did not confirm if pepper spray was involved. The shop also closed early that day for customer safety.
Victoria Police spokesperson Const. Matt Rutherford said police attended around 5:20 p.m. but the man had fled.
“The shoplifter was being arrested by an LPO [loss prevention officer] when the shoplifter discharged bear spray,” Rutherford said. “Our investigation continues as we did not find the suspect.”
The LPO required treatment on scene.