Burnaby SkyTrain passengers found themselves in the middle of a dramatic police incident this week.
It all started inside the Metrotown mall on Tuesday, according to an emailed Burnaby RCMP statement.
Officers were called to the mall at about 5:15 p.m. for reports of an assault, the statement said.
The suspect involved was reportedly being aggressive and threatening strangers with a knife.
The suspect fled the area, heading towards the Metrotown SkyTrain station, according to police.
When officers arrived, they challenged the suspect, and he dropped a knife, but then he reached for another knife, police said.
Eventually the suspect dropped to his knees, but he refused to comply with police commands, according to police.
One officer attempted to deploy a Taser, but it was “not effective,” and the suspect fled up an escalator with three officers in pursuit, police said.
The suspect managed to get on a westbound train before the officers caught up to him and took him into custody, according to police.
All told, the suspect had been in possession of three knives, police said.
The 17-year-old now faces charges of assault with a weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Part of the incident was captured on video and shared online.
The video, posted on Instagram by vancouver_true_crime, shows multiple officers with guns drawn inside the Metrotown station yelling at the suspect.
The suspect is then shown getting onto his knees with his hands on the ground.
One officer then kicks him, ordering him to ‘get on the ground,’ but the suspect gets to his feet instead.
Another officer deploys a Taser, but the suspect can be seen pulling off the Taser probes and fleeing up the escalator with three officers in pursuit.
“It came in as a man with a knife threatening people in Metrotown, so right off the bat it’s a potential assault with a weapon, and when our officers got on the scene, they saw a knife,” Burnaby RCMP spokesperson told the NOW. “Who knows how many other weapons he has on him, so that explains the guns out.”
Police said no one was injured during the incident.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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