Arrest made after Winnipeg grocery store employees assaulted with brass knuckles: WPS

Foodfare on Portage Avenue is pictured on May 2, 2024. (Scott Andersson/CTV News Winnipeg)

Police say a teenager is facing charges after three employees at a Winnipeg grocery store were assaulted with brass knuckles.

The Winnipeg Police Service says officers were called to Foodfare in the 900 block of Portage Avenue at around 6:40 p.m. Tuesday for a report of a commercial robbery where employees were assaulted.

Police say they arrived on scene to find three male employees, ages 19, 22, and 46, all suffering from upper-body injuries from an assault.

All three men were taken to hospital.

Police say a male suspect fled before they arrived.

Through their investigation, police say they learned the suspect went to the store earlier in the day and was escorted out following “an unrelated incident.”

Officers say the suspect later returned with brass knuckles and assaulted the three victims.

Police say he fled, but was found at the rear of the 1000 block of Selkirk Avenue and was arrested without incident.

Officials say they saw the suspect discard the brass knuckles in a nearby yard, which they seized as evidence.

A 17-year-old male from Winnipeg faces assault and weapon-related charges.

He was released on an undertaking.

AMC cancels news conference with Foodfare

Details on the incident come after the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) scheduled and subsequently cancelled a news conference alongside the owners of Foodfare Wednesday.

CTV News Winnipeg has reached out to AMC and Foodfare owner Munther Zeid for more information, and is awaiting a response.

This incident comes nearly two weeks after another altercation between a Foodfare employee and a customer over alleged shoplifting at the same store. The employee was suspended, and AMC said at the time it had terminated a relationship with Foodfare where AMC purchased food from the grocery store to create hampers for families in its Jordan’s Principle program.

However, AMC said before cancelling the news conference, it is in the process of working with the owners of Foodfare, adding the business is implementing cultural sensitivity training for their staff and working to draft a policy to address shoplifting.

- With files from CTV’s Charles Lefebvre