Teen packs firearm in busy Kildonan Place mall

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This article was published 23/12/2024 (257 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A teenager was caught in a busy city mall with a loaded 3D-printed pistol tucked in his clothes on the weekend before Christmas in an incident Winnipeg police call “alarming.”

The 15-year-old was arrested in the Kildonan Place mall Saturday afternoon, the Winnipeg Police Service said Monday.

Mall security guards asked police officers, who were in the mall as part of an anti-crime program, to help them kick out several teens who were causing a disturbance, said police spokesman Const. Claude Chancy.

He said the small group of teens was yelling and being disruptive.

“It wasn’t anything more than that, but obviously, they were causing a disruption that would warrant expulsion from the mall,” said Chancy.

Officers searched one of the teens after noticing irregular bulges in his clothing and found the loaded 3D-printed 9 mm handgun and a magazine with three rounds of ammunition.

The teenager will be charged with three firearms offences and one count each of carrying a concealed weapon and failing to comply with the condition of an undertaking. He was held in custody.

“It’s concerning. We have somebody that’s armed attending a very public setting. Any time we encounter that, that is something that is alarming and we want to get to the bottom of (it),” said Chancy. “Even more alarming is the age of the perpetrator.”

He said the motive for carrying the weapon is unknown, but “just the fact he had it on him, it’s obviously meant for nefarious purposes.”

Chancy said investigators are working to trace the origin of the firearm.

“It is something that is always being looked at, to see where these guns are coming from — where they’re being fabricated and where they’re being distributed,” he said.

Kildonan Place management refused to comment about the arrest as well as on the mall’s security protocols.

The shopping centre on Regent Avenue West did brisk business on Monday afternoon, just two days before Christmas.

“It’s the world we live in now, unfortunately,” said Jack Robinson, who stopped at the mall mid-day Monday to pick up some vinyl records as last-minute Christmas gifts. “He was arrested, so that’s nice.”

Manjot Kaur and Kamaljit Mann, a couple who were running errands, were shocked to learn about the arrest.

“It’s very bad and very strange,” said Mann.

Kaur said it made her nervous.

“For all the people who shop here, it’s not good,” she said.

Julius, who was waiting for his wife to arrive at the mall, and didn’t want his surname printed, said hearing that such a young person took a gun into the mall made him wary.

“It makes you feel afraid… Kids having access to guns — it makes you feel like you’re down in (the United) States,” he said. “You need to be more alert nowadays.”

But, he said, he doesn’t plan to stop shopping at Kildonan Place for now.

Winnipeg police launched a shoplifting crackdown over the 2023 holiday season, following a sharp increase in reports of thefts and violence at retailers.

The seasonal enforcement campaign was followed by a provincially funded program, which has since been made permanent.

Chancy said retail theft cannot be addressed by police alone.

“It involves not only government but the retail establishments that are requiring assistance,” he said. “Between all the parties involved and community members as well — it all goes hand-in-hand in mitigating these kinds of incidents and ensuring the safety of shoppers throughout the city.”

The provincial government announced the initiative would become permanent in November. The program will be staffed by 12 new police officers.

This month, police said the presence of uniformed officers in busy shopping areas throughout December would be increased.

In 2023, incidents of shoplifting of items valued under $5,000 soared by 45.4 per compared with 2022.

Reports had doubled since 2021, although the 2023 total was below 2019 and 2020 figures fuelled by liquor store thefts.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca