TIGARD, Ore. — A wing of the Washington Square Mall was evacuated on Monday after a theft suspect pepper sprayed someone, according to the Tigard Police Department.
Between 3:45 p.m. and 4 p.m., a theft or robbery took place at a store inside the mall. Tigard police said that the store manager at Pottery Barn pepper sprayed by a suspect they were following.
Someone who present during the incident inside the area of the mall ran out and called police. They reported that they and other bystanders inside the mall experienced burning in their eyes and coughing as a result of the pepper spray fumes wafting around the area of the mall where the incident took place, according to the Tigard Police Department.
Officers also said many customers who were exposed were checked out by paramedics, but no one was taken to the hospital.
The wing of the mall where the store is located is now closed to allow the air to be properly cleaned before reopening, Tigard police said.
