Two people injured in robbery at Fairview Park Mall: police

A Waterloo regional police investigation is underway after a jewelry store at Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener was robbed.

At least a dozen police vehicles could be seen outside the mall around 5 p.m. Saturday.

"Four unknown masked males entered a business with hammers and a firearm and smashed display cases and stole merchandise," public information officer Constable Brad Hickey said.

Hickey said the suspects also sprayed a noxious substance inside the mall and then ran off to a white SUV driven by a fifth suspect.

The mall was evacuated as a safety precaution after some people who had been inside the mall at the time of the robbery told police they were having trouble breathing.

"As a result of this robbery incident, two employees were taken to [a] local hospital with non-life-threatening physical injuries," Hickey said.

People working at nearby businesses are raising safety concerns following the latest incident.

"Police have to have more concerned about this," Desi Bites employee Gurpreet Singh told CTV News on Sunday.

"They have to have patrolling and more vigilance in these areas. Especially in the populated areas," Singh said.

But Singh said the mall is not the only area of concern.

"Last month we had a gun shot here," he said. "Nowadays it’s not safe to go out in the nighttime."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 519-570-9777, extension 8255 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.