Ottawa police are asking the public to help them identify a man who they suspect robbed perfumes from the same store in the Glebe that reported a separate violent robbery involving perfumes in November.
According to police, a man entered a store in the 700 block of Bank Street at 11:40 p.m. on Feb. 3.
The man hid an unknown number of perfume bottles and tried to leave the store. When an employee “confronted” him at the door, the man “pulled out a knife” and fled the store on foot, the Ottawa Police Service said in a news release on Monday.
No one was hurt in the incident, police said.
Investigators say they need help identifying the man, who they describe as being in his 20s, with brown hair buzzed short.
At the time of the alleged robbery, the man was wearing dark grey or olive green three-quarter-length winter jacket with a blue interior lining, according to police. Underneath that, he was wearing a dark shirt and carried a tan, cross-body messenger bag, police said.
While he wouldn’t specify which business was targeted on Bank Street, Ottawa police spokesperson Const. Chuck Benoit confirmed that same store was robbed the night of Nov. 23, 2019.
In that incident, a suspect also took a number of perfumes from the fragrance section, hid them in a backpack and “threatened to stab” a loss prevention officer that tried to stop him leaving the store, police said on Jan. 14 as they appealed to the public for help identifying that suspect too.
No one was hurt in the November incident either.
Investigators urge anyone with information regarding the Feb. 3 incident to call 613-236-1222, ext. 5116 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers.