Prince Albert man facing weapons charges after Christmas Day of armed robberies

A Prince Albert Police Service car is pictured in the file photo. (Prince Albert Police Service)

Police in Prince Albert, Sask, are reporting a harrowing Christmas Day story involving three armed robberies, two suspect chases and the shooting of a taxi driver.

They say it began around 5 p.m. Wednesday when they got a report that a hitchhiker had stolen a man's vehicle at gunpoint.

A few hours later they responded to an armed robbery at a business.

Based on surveillance tape of the robbery, they later spotted the suspect in an alley getting out of a taxi and into the stolen vehicle.

They chased the vehicle until it hit a tree, then captured the suspect in a foot pursuit and later charged the 25-year-old with multiple offences.

They also attended to the taxi driver, who received non-life-threatening injuries after he was allegedly held up at gunpoint by the suspect and was shot.

Officers had responded to another attempted roadside armed robbery around 5:30 a.m. that morning, but police say there's no evidence to indicate they are connected.

In that incident, officers were called to the 400 block of Marquis Road to check on reports of a vehicle driving dangerously.

Police say two people wearing masks got out of their SUV and pointed what looked like firearms at several vehicles before driving west on Marquis Road.

The suspect had fled the scene before police arrived, Prince Albert police said.