Trio of teens, aged 12 to 14, nabbed by Winnipeg police for violent robberies

Winnipeg police say three young teens committed several violent robberies in the span of about an hour on Sunday.

It all began Sunday morning at about 7:15 a.m. when police said the trio confronted a man walking to work in the back lane between Elgin and William avenues. The group threatened to shoot the man if he didn’t turn over his money, but the man replied he had no money and walked away, police said.

The teens then shoved the man to the ground and stole his sunglasses. The man went to Health Sciences Centre nearby for treatment, police said.

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At 7:45 a.m. the same trio approached a woman in her 60s heading to her car after work on Ross Avenue. Police say the three again threatened to shoot her and made sexual comments, but a stranger in a truck picked her up and drove her to her car. The teens then threw objects at the truck, police said. The victim was not hurt.

A few minutes later, the three began following a man leaving a drugstore. The trio told him to give them his money or backpack, but he refused, then ran when the teens threatened to stab him, police said.

The man ran to a home where he went inside and locked the door, so one of the teens threw a rock through the window, causing $3,000 damage, police said.

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Just after 8 a.m., a man in his 30s was confronted by them near Tecumseh Street and Ross Avenue, where police said they demanded money and the man’s duffel bag.

The victim said he had no money, but they shoved him to the ground and began assaulting him, police said. He was taken to hospital for head and upper-body injuries, and his bag was later found in the area.

Police tracked down the wayward trio in a parking lot on Notre Dame Avenue. They face charges including three counts of robbery, assault with a weapon, breaking and entering, mischief under $5,000, and possession of a weapon.

“As prescribed by the Criminal Code, all three were released on Undertakings with June 2021 court dates,” police said.