A 15-year-old has been charged in connection with a violent robbery at a Winnipeg liquor store

A 15-year-old boy has been charged with an unprovoked attack on a Winnipeg liquor store employee, the latest in a string of fake retail thefts in the city.

The union representing workers at provincially-owned Liquor Marts says Manitoba's theft epidemic has reached dangerous levels and something needs to be done urgently.

“This situation is completely out of control, not only at our Liquor Marts, but at individual retail stores as well,” said Michelle Gawronski, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union.

He called on the provincial government to bring key players to the table, including law enforcement, addiction and social services, private vendors, unions and government officials to find a solution.

“We all have to work together to get this crisis under control,” he said.

Robberies at liquor stores in the province have been on the rise for more than a year, with thieves braving the aisles, carrying backpacks and other bags full of bottles, and staff being warned not to interfere for fear of being attacked.

At times, staff were threatened with weapons, including knives and pepper spray. In other cases, thieves took bottles and used them as weapons.

But it reached a new level of violence in Winnipeg on Wednesday afternoon.

Watch security video of Wednesday's attack:

Police were called to the Tyndall Park Liquor Market at Keewatin Street and Burroughs Avenue at 3:45 p.m., where the store was broken into without cause and three employees were assaulted, Manitoba Liquor and Lottery officials said.

Three different women were punched in the head or face, and one was sent to the hospital unconscious.

In a video obtained by CBC News, two people can be seen in the store with their faces partially covered. One pushes a security guard, yells at a female employee, punches her and knocks her to the floor.

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He then goes to the safety of the office and closes the door.

The suspect, identified by police as a 15-year-old boy, then begins yelling and gesturing at another female employee behind the counter. He walks over and hits her on the head.

He lost consciousness and was later taken to hospital in critical condition, police said. Sources told CBC News she suffered a seizure during the attack.

Then the boy sees a man fighting in front of them, struggling with each other, and disappearing from sight.

At a press conference Thursday, police said three men entered the store armed with knives and attacked the child employees while the other two stole “a large amount of alcohol.”

The woman, who has since been taken to hospital, is in stable condition, but “these injuries should not be underestimated,” said Const. Rob Carver.

After leaving the liquor store, police said the boy and two of his associates assaulted other people in the mall.

The boy pushed her to another business, demanded money from everyone inside, and then punched the woman in the face,” said the police.

The victim, who did not require hospitalization, said he was shocked by the attack.

“For a few seconds, I was unconscious, my brain stopped working,” she told CBC News on Thursday, noting that she was a few feet away when the boy first entered, while other people were standing near the door.

“I was really worried about my friends because he wasn't close to me.”

But the boy quickly crossed the floor, came up behind him and punched him in the face. He finally left when someone he knew grabbed him by the shoulder.

“I just fell on the table, the computer desk, and my glasses went off,” the woman, who was not named, told CBC News. “He was aggressive, very aggressive. He could have done more for us.”

The person who came to pick her up stopped her and urged her not to do anything more, the woman said.

Once, when he was outside a shopping mall, the boy met a woman and her daughter in a car. He threatened them and tried to drive away, but failed, police said.

The boy then targeted the two females, attempted to steal their purses, and threatened to hit them with a liquor bottle as they lay on the ground.

“Just to make sure you understand, they were cowering on the ground in front of the suspect,” Carver said.

At that time, several people in the area intervened and took the suspect into police custody.

The boy, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been charged with 19 offences, including making threats to cause death. The other two men have not yet been located, Carver said.

A witness who works at the mall described the attack as “terrifying” and said the attackers were “crazy”.

Hundreds were arrested

Carver said at a press conference that hundreds of people have been arrested in connection with liquor store robberies in the past few months.

“We have some people who do nothing but watch videos in liquor stores,” he said, noting that one person arrested was responsible for 106 incidents and another for 47.

“We are making arrests every day.”

Watch Wednesday's robbery suspect arrested by police:

In fact, police estimate there are at least 10 to 20 alcohol thefts in the city each day, but the number could be closer to 30, Carver said.

“We're putting in a lot of hours (tracking down the suspects) and we're making progress,” he said, adding that other investigators were surprised to learn the boy charged in Wednesday's robbery had no criminal record, especially given the level of violence.

Most of those arrested in connection with liquor robbery are known to the police.

The Salvation Army is coming

Violent violence prompted the Salvation Army to withdraw from Winnipeg's Liquor Marts.

The agency announced Thursday that teapots for the annual holiday fundraiser will not be installed at those stores.

“We are saddened by our decision to remove these kettles, but the safety of our staff and volunteers is paramount,” said Blair Malazdrewicz.

Carver said while alcohol robberies get a lot of attention, they aren't the only businesses seeing an increase in violence.

“It's not unique to what our officers are seeing, and it's not unique to Liquor Marts,” he said.

“All kinds of stores are seeing very aggressive people come in and what used to be a shoplifting incident is turning into an armed robbery.”

Security measures have been strengthened

Tyndall Park Liquor Mart has had several robberies and was under construction on a new secure entrance when the incident happened Wednesday.

The new entries require customers to show a photo ID at a security checkpoint before entering.

In a statement released Thursday, Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries said more information about the new measures and what they mean for consumers will be released as they become available.

“We did not expect to announce this initiative so soon, and we are currently working to gather relevant information to share with the media while briefing our front-line employees today,” the statement said.

Manny Atwal, president and CEO of Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, said similar secure entrances will be installed at other locations in the coming weeks.

Carver said any attempt to add other barriers, such as controlled entry, has “certain merit.” Such measures were also taken in jewelry stores and were effective, he said.

Gawronsky welcomes the increased security, but said the response must go beyond that.

“This crisis is bigger than Liquor Marts. This is a Manitoba crisis that urgently requires provincial leadership,” he said. “We've reached a point now where we have to do something.”

Carver said the police service is open to a summit-style meeting and senior members have been in contact with MLL officials.

“We always want to see multi-agency collaborative approaches to any long-term problem. “I think that's always the way to go about it,” he said.

“I can't comment on it (the summit) other than to say it's not surprising and to be expected.”