Bystanders aid officers in arrest of pepper-spraying shoplifter in South Seattle

A 46-year-old man was arrested with the help of multiple bystanders Monday after he allegedly attempted to rob a South Seattle grocery store and assaulted a security guard.

At approximately 3:15 p.m., Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers responded to a grocery store in the 3800 block of Rainier Ave. S. after reports of a shoplifter using mace on a security guard, SPD announced.

Officers arrived and found a victim suffering from pepper spray and a masked suspect in the store’s entrance. SPD noted the suspect was possibly unconscious.

The Seattle Fire Department was dispatched to evaluate the victim and suspect, who were both treated for minor injuries.

Security guard confronts shoplifter at South Seattle store

SPD determined the victim, a grocery store security guard, witnessed the suspect hiding items and trying to leave the store.

The security guard confronted the suspect inside a coffee shop attached to the grocery store and tried to retrieve the items.

While the security guard grabbed the items, the suspect pepper-sprayed them. During the altercation, the security guard was pepper-sprayed multiple times and punched in the torso by the suspect.

After being pepper-sprayed, the security guard continued trying to recover the stolen merchandise. The altercation eventually moved from the inside of the store to the outside.

A nearby patron, uninvolved in the incident, was able to subdue the suspect. Shortly after, other bystanders provided help by holding the suspect down as the store manager called law enforcement.

Once SPD arrived, the bystanders left the scene.

Surveillance footage of the incident was reviewed, and officers arrested the suspect.

SPD seized $184 in stolen property from the suspect, which was returned to the store. The suspect’s pepper spray was also recovered as evidence.

As a previously convicted felon, the suspect was on active Department of Corrections supervision and prohibited from engaging in criminal behavior as a standard condition of his release.

SPD transported the suspect to the hospital for medical evaluation, and he was later booked into the King County Jail for armed robbery and felony assault.

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