Kingston police arrested a man after an alleged shoplifting incident turned violent in a downtown Kingston store.
Although Kingston police did not identify the store, Global News has confirmed the incident occurred in the downtown Dollarama at 176 Princess Street.
Just before 8:30 p.m. on Monday evening, Kingston police were called to the discount store for a shoplifting call.
According to police, a man entered the store and allegedly began taking items and hiding them inside his jacket.
He then tried to leave the store without paying, according to police, but he was stopped by store security and taken to an office.
Once in the office, the man allegedly lunged at one of the store’s security officers, pulling out a knife and waving it. The security officers then fled the office, while the man allegedly began destroying the room.
He damaged ceiling tiles and began crawling through the ceiling, police say.
When police arrived, they found the suspect dangling from the ceiling. He was arrested by police after a foot chase around the store.
The man’s knife was seized and he was arrested and held for a bail hearing. There are no reports of injuries.
A 39-year-old Kingston man is charged with assault with a weapon, mischief over $5,000, possession of a weapon while prohibited, possession of a weapon dangerous to public peace, and possession of a prohibited weapon knowing it was unauthorized.
Every day, Kingston police release information on dispatch calls to Global News with incident numbers. The incident number for the call to Dollarama on Monday evening matches the incident number provided in the details of the Kingston police news release about this particular incident.
Dollarama staff said they could not comment on the incident.