18-year-old Kingston man arrested minutes after downtown robbery and assault

An 18-year-old Kingston resident was arrested within one minute after robbing a business near Princess and Barrie Streets on May 30. The accused threatened staff with an imitation firearm and kicked an employee.

Kingston teen arrested within minutes after downtown robbery and assault

An 18-year-old Kingston resident was taken into custody within one minute of police receiving a call about a robbery at a downtown business, kingstonist.com reports.

The incident took place at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at a business in the area of Princess Street and Barrie Street. According to a Kingston Police press release dated Wednesday, June 3, 2026, the individual was observed shoplifting inside the establishment.

"Upon confrontation by an employee, the individual claimed to have a weapon, threatened the employee and then assaulted them," Kingston Police stated.

Lindsey Hegadorn, Corporate Communications Coordinator for Kingston Police, confirmed to kingstonist.com that the assault consisted of the employee being kicked. The accused was also found to be carrying an imitation firearm, which Hegadorn confirmed was the only weapon located on the individual.

Officers arrived at the scene at 5:33 p.m. and arrested the accused on the sidewalk outside a neighbouring business at 5:34 p.m., without incident.

Kingston Police Chief Adam MacIntosh credited the swift outcome to frontline officers, calling their rapid response "instrumental in quickly locating and arresting the individual, helping to prevent further risk to the public."

"Within minutes of receiving the call, officers located and arrested the individual, demonstrating our commitment to public safety and the importance of rapid police response when serious incidents occur," MacIntosh said.

Hegadorn clarified that this incident is unrelated to a separate event reported on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in which an individual assaulted members of the public and caused damage inside another local business. Although the two incidents occurred at roughly the same time and in the same general area, they involved different businesses and were handled as entirely separate police responses.

The businesses involved in both incidents were not identified by police.

Source: Google News JM — Kingston