Man arrested after shopping mall staff in Burnaby, B.C., threatened with knife, bear spray

Burnaby RCMP arrested a man in relation to an incident at the Metrotown mall, April 22.

Police in Burnaby, B.C. have arrested a 44-year-old man after security at the Metrotown mall were allegedly threatened with bear spray and a knife.

Officers were called to the multi-storey mall around 10:20 p.m., April 22, Burnaby RCMP said in a statement Friday.

The suspect fled the scene before police arrived, but was quickly located nearby. Mounties say officers attempted to engage with the suspect, but he ignored police commands while wielding a can of bear spray.

“With the presence of two weapons and the public safety risk, arresting officers used distractionary strikes and deployed a conducted energy weapon in order to gain control of the resisting subject as safely as possible,” the statement said.

The suspect was provided medical care for “very minor injuries” and was taken into custody, where he faces multiple criminal charges, say police.

“If not for the actions of our frontline officers, this situation could have had much more dire consequences,” said Supt. Sunny Parmar.

“We are aware that there is video of this interaction online that does not capture the totality of the circumstances. If you have video of the incident, or witnessed it and haven’t spoken to police, our investigators would like to hear from you.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has relevant video is asked to contact the Burnaby RCMP at 604-646-9999, and quote file number 25-13386.