Candle thief sprays dozens of people with bear mace in Miami International Mall, cops say
A Bath and Body Works candle heist involving bear mace injured dozens of Miami International Mall goers Saturday afternoon. Fire Rescue is working quickly to help those affected by the strong-odored repellent.
“This is an only in Miami story,” Doral Police Spokesperson Rey Valdes said. “You can’t make this up.”
Around 4 p.m., an unknown man walked into the mall’s Bath and Body Works armed with a can of bear mace, he said.
With a stolen bag of candles in one hand and the bear repellent in the other, he aimed at customers doing some weekend shopping and sprayed away, Valdes says video showed.
He got around 35 people, which included about 15 staff members and other customers inside along with mall shoppers outside the store who caught a whiff of the repellent, Valdes said.
The store manager had to be taken to an emergency room since she took a direct hit from the spray. Valdes said her injury is is not life threatening but serious. She was having trouble breathing.
The symptoms a person could get after being maced are irritated eyes and nasal passageway, along with trouble breathing, he said.
After dosing the store, he made his getaway with his bag of stolen candles. He jumped into a yellow cab and fled the scene.
His identity is not known, but police say he is a heavy-set man with short, cropped black hair wearing a black shirt and blue jean shorts.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said some people had to be transported to local hospitals but could not say how many.
A portion of the mall, in the immediate area of the Bath and Body Works, was evacuated after the macing since the repellent can get in the AC system and affect more people, Valdes said. It is unclear if parts of the mall are still closed.
Once the man is arrested, Valdes said he could be facing up to 35 felonies. These would include several counts of armed robbery for each staff member he hit with mace and other counts of aggravated battery for the customers he injured with a “chemical agent.”
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.
