Teens caught during armed robbery at Walmart ‘Honestly, I am at a loss for words,’ senior WPS officer says as four charged By: Scott Billeck Posted: 1:08 PM CDT Wednesday, Sep. 3, 2025 Last Modified: 6:03 PM CDT Wednesday, Sep. 3, 2025 Updates

Four teens — two just 13 years old — have been charged in a brazen daytime armed robbery at a Winnipeg Walmart, reigniting concerns over rising retail theft, violence and public safety in the city.

Winnipeg police held a news conference Wednesday to provide information about the incident that occurred around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Unicity Walmart, during which a security officer was nearly shot in the head with an airgun.

Two 13-year-olds — a girl and a boy — are among four youths facing armed robbery charges following a tense confrontation.

The 13-year-old boy, armed with a CO2-propelled airgun, fired at, but missed, a store security officer who had apprehended a teen accomplice, police said.

“Honestly, I am at a loss for words,” said an emotional Insp. Jen McKinnon. “How did we get to this place? Retail crime used to be about shoplifting, meaning hiding something in your jacket, in your bag… the goal was not to get caught. People didn’t get hurt. Kids didn’t come to the store with firearms.

“But this is what staff and security are having to deal with every day, wondering every day if this is going to happen.”

Added Insp. Max Waddell: “With shoplifting and retail theft, it’s just become so overwhelming for so many of us. And the level of violence we are seeing is just continuing to increase.”

The group, which included a 15-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy, had filled backpacks with merchandise and made their way to the exit without paying, leading to the confrontation, police said.

Both McKinnon and Waddell said the incident could have had a far different outcome, but credited WPS officers for showing “great restraint” after the gun was pointed in their direction.

Officers who were on assignment near the store were flagged down and arrested two teens inside the store and two others outside, a short distance away.

What began as a routine shopping trip for Lisa Andreone and her family quickly turned to terror when she saw one of the teens produce a weapon, demanding the store employee release another member of the group.

“We were just coming into the Walmart, I was putting my son into the cart,” Andreone said. “I heard a commotion and I turned around to see a woman being grabbed at the arms by a man, who I assume was loss prevention or undercover security,” she said. “They were right by the exit to the store.”

She said another teen was standing between the doors, yelling at the guard to release the woman.

A third teen was also nearby. Andreone wasn’t sure if she was connected to the incident but recalled seeing her leave in the direction of the store’s washrooms after the boy spoke to her.

“Then I saw the young guy who was between the two doors had a gun and was pointing it at the loss-prevention person, telling him to let the girl go,” Andreone said.

She quickly fled to the back of the store with her children and her mother.

Andreone saw six or seven police vehicles parked near the store’s front entrance when she finished shopping. She said there were no announcements made to customers and business in the store appeared to continue as usual.

“I was quite shaken by the incident, and I don’t feel as comfortable going into the store or bringing my kids with me.”

“I was quite shaken by the incident, and I don’t feel as comfortable going into the store or bringing my kids with me,” Andreone said. “We live quite close to the store, so we are there one to two times a week.

“I have never feared for my safety in this Walmart or in St. James in general, but that has changed now. We were thinking about moving outside of the city, and this may be a big factor in the final push to move.”

For the month of September, police said they will be pouring resources into retail theft deterrents, including undercover operations targeting theft hot spots in the city.

But Waddell made it clear Wednesday that until the consequences are greater for offenders, very little will change.

“Until society determines and deems there needs to be more consequences, this is going to continue to happen,” he said, noting it’s the unfortunate reality for police.

Tuesday’s incident comes amid a sharp rise in retail thefts across Winnipeg. Police data show reported cases jumped 41.1 per cent in 2024, climbing from 6,047 in 2023 to 8,530 last year.

Despite optimism from retailers earlier this year that theft trends were starting to improve thanks to increased enforcement and reporting, violent encounters remain common.

Just last week, a Winnipeg police officer sustained minor injuries after confronting a man accused of stealing from a Donald Street store. The officer had been flagged down by a store staffer after a man allegedly took items and left the store without paying. The suspect physically assaulted the officer, according to police, and a knife fell from his waistband.

In another case a week prior, a security guard at a Stafford Street No Frills was nearly stabbed after stopping a man suspected of trying to leave with stolen meat. The guard sidestepped the blade but was punched in the face.

In both cases, the suspects were arrested, charged and held in custody.

Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said Wednesday the province is stepping up its response to retail crime and reviewing Manitoba’s Private Investigator and Security Guard Act, which requires both private investigators and security guards to be licensed.

“So that it’s up to date, and that security guards have the tools that they need to de-escalate the situation and keep the public safe,” Wiebe said, noting the government is also exploring ways to expand security-guard powers.

“Helping them get the right training, but also helping them understand what their rights and responsibilities are as private security in a retail setting.”

Wiebe added that wait times for security guard licences have been reduced to about a week — a significant improvement, he said, from delays under the previous Tory government.

The province established a retail crime task force in 2020 comprising representatives from government, police, justice and the retail sector to create co-ordinated strategies, share best practices, and identify solutions.

McKinnon is the WPS representative.

It also includes John Graham, director of government relations at the Retail Council of Canada, who said having police and prosecution working closely together has helped move the needle.

“We’re trying to focus on some of the escalating violence issues,” Graham said. “There’s some really good work going on, and the view that we’ve had is there is complex social issues, and businesses can handle those, but it’s these prolific, violent offenders and organized retail crime that we want off the street.”

Waddell said it’s possible the four youths involved in Tuesday’s incident were being directed to do so by someone else, and suggested the majority of shoplifting isn’t due to need, but perpetrated by organized-crime groups.

Police said Wednesday that reporting incidents, while inconvenient, is a key element in addressing the problem; even if it doesn’t result in immediate results, it provides analytics they can use to shift resources to theft hot spots in the city.

Police said the 13-year-old boy has been charged with armed robbery using a firearm, use of imitation firearm during commission of an indictable offence, assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon.

A 13-year-girl has been charged with armed robbery using a firearm.

A 15-year-old girl has been charged with armed robbery using a firearm and had additional arrest warrants for failing to comply with sentence and release orders, as well as two warrants for theft under $5,000.

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with armed robbery using a firearm and two counts of failing to comply with a sentence order. In addition, he had a warrant for three counts of failing to comply with a sentence order.

All four were detained in youth custody.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca