A mother and her child were pepper sprayed during an attempted robbery in Sarnia.
Sarnia Police Service officials say on the evening of August 31, members of the Sarnia Police Service General Patrol responded to a call regarding a robbery that had taken place at a park located in the area of Maxwell Street and Kember Avenue in the City of Sarnia.
A 23-year-old woman was allegedly having difficulty with her two-year-old son, at home, that couldn’t fall asleep.
The mother decided to take the child for a walk to the park and see if he would calm down after being on a swing.
The mother attended the park with the child in her arms and as she approached the swings, she felt someone jerk at the purse she was carrying, police say.
The mother turned to face who it was and allegedly observed a male party with a black can and heard a noise that sounded like an aerosol spray being disbursed.
At the time the mother did not realize that pepper spray had been released.
The mother, who was very alarmed, was able to hold onto the purse and run back to her residence which was nearby.
Police say it is also believed that the suspect left the area in an unknown direction.
Once at home, the mother realized that her child had actually received the full effects of the pepper spray.
The mother had the child immediately taken to hospital for treatment, as he was having difficulty breathing and experiencing pain from the effects.
Once there, the child’s symptoms were brought under control, police say.
The mother also experience some symptoms from cross contamination from the child being peppered sprayed.
“Both mother and son are doing better now,” police officials stated.
A description was provided of the suspect:
– A male, somewhere between 20 and 30 years of age
– No facial hair
– Sinny build, between 5 foot 1 inch and 5 foot 2 inches tall
– Dirty blonde hair that was approximately one inch long
– He was wearing a grey sweatshirt with a hood and dark coloured pants
– He appeared to have an overall messy look and bad body odour
If anyone has any information pertaining to this matter they are please asked to contact Detective Constable Heather Patterson at 519-344-8861 ext. 6105 or Detective Sgt. Michael Kahnert at 519-344-8861 ext. 6196.
If people wish to remain anonymous, they can contact Sarnia Lambton Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
