(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)

Police are asking for the public's assistance in locating a Kamloops shoplifter who stole a jacket and threatened an employee with bear spray, and may be behind other thefts in the vicinity.

The shoplifter was confronted by an employee of the Atmosphere store in the 1100 block of Columbia Street while attempting to steal a jacket Nov. 5 around 5 p.m., according to an RCMP release. 

A struggle ensued over the item, during which the shoplifter produced a large canister of bear spray and aimed it at the employee. The bear spray did not deploy, but the suspect escaped with the jacket.

An image of a shoplifting suspect taken from surveillance video at the Atmosphere store in the 1100 block of Columbia Street in Kamloops is seen in this submitted photo. Police say he was attempting to steal a jacket, Nov. 5, 2020 around 5 p.m.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED / RCMP

“We are very happy that the bear spray did not deploy on the staff member and that no serious injuries occurred during this incident,” Kamloops RCMP Sgt. Darren Michels said in a release. 

He added that police hope the description of the suspect will help with his identification.

The shoplifter is described as a Caucasian male, 5'9" tall and 160 lbs. wearing a camouflage baseball cap, grey hoody, red T-shirt, jeans, and black and white runners.

The man also has an eyebrow piercing over one eye and a blue-green tattoo of two lines over his left eye. He was carrying a black duffle bag with "A+ Teacher" written on the outside. 

"Our investigation continues but if there are other businesses in this area that have experienced thefts by a male matching the same description and have not yet reported it, we are asking that they please contact us," Sgt. Michels said.

Anyone with any information regarding this incident or the identity of the suspect is asked to call the Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-2477.

— This story was updated at 3:05 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, 2020 with a photo of the suspect and new information from RCMP.

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