Assault with weapon at MH Mall

By JEREMY APPEL on January 3, 2020.

jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel

Police have arrested a 40-year-old male who allegedly assaulted a 72-year-old man with a weapon Thursday afternoon at the Medicine Hat Mall.

The News has independently verified the assault occurred at a cell phone kiosk in the mall’s hallway.

According to a Medicine Hat Police Service news release, 911 dispatch received a panic alarm at the mall around 1 p.m. Within seconds, police received another call requesting an ambulance for the victim, who was “injured by another mall patron.”

Police and EMS arrived on scene and attended to the victim, who suffered “serious injuries” and is being treated at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, as per the news release.

“At this time, we do not believe the injuries are life-threatening,” MHPS Staff Sgt. Ryan Thorburn told the News. “Given the location of the injury, they could become life-threatening at any time, so we’re taking this very seriously.”

Thorburn says police are indebted to members of the public who assisted the victim while police and paramedics were on their way.

“One of the bystanders immediately went into first aid action and really helped us out,” he said. “We’re definitely very thankful that person did that.”

The identity of the accused – and his relationship to the victim – cannot be revealed until charges are officially sworn against him, although the news release notes “the accused and the victim are known to each other.”

Thorburn estimates police have anywhere from four to eight hours of investigation to conduct, after which charges can be officially sworn.

A section of the mall has been cordoned off with police tape while further investigation is ongoing, but most of the stores in the vicinity remain open.

The suspect is facing charges of aggravated assault and possessing a dangerous weapon, as well as some breaches of release documents, according to Thorburn.

While first responders attended to the victim, cops were notified the suspect was attempting to leave the premises on foot, whom they confronted and were able to arrest without incident.

“The mall has their own security, so you’re going to have a lot of people in the hallways who witnessed this event and are pointing us in the right direction when we come,” said Thorburn.

“I can’t say specifically any one person, but we definitely had bystanders and witnesses on scene who knew who the subject or suspect was.”

He says police are specifically trained to track down suspects in crowded public places.

“Basically, we’re keying off all of the witnesses who are there, and we’re trying to determine if we’re going to confront that subject immediately or let that subject move into another place. And the subject’s going to dictate sometimes what our tactics need to be,” Thorburn said.

The MHPS release says this was an isolated incident and that there is no broader threat to public safety.

A witness told the News the incident was a stabbing, which police would neither confirm nor deny.

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