Arrest made after bus riders pepper-sprayed

A 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection to a pepper-spray attack on a city bus last week.

Last Monday, nine people aboard a Winnipeg Transit bus stopped at Sherbrook Street and Sargent Avenue were treated for minor injuries after a person who was exiting the vehicle discharged a canister of bear spray.

According to police, a 20-year-old man on the bus was confronted by another male just after 3 p.m. Monday and the noxious chemical was sprayed. There was no apparent motive for the attack, police said.

Officers with the major crime unit arrested a suspect at 1 p.m. CT on Monday outside a business located at Notre Dame Avenue and Maryland Street.

He remains behind bars and made a first court appearance on Tuesday morning. He's been charged with nine counts of assault with a weapon along with a charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

He was also wanted on a warrant for using a gun to kidnap and confine a woman on April 4, court records show.

Police would not comment on the kidnapping allegations, saying that they were domestic-violence related.

Winnipeg Police Service policy prohibits officers from releasing information about domestic-violence cases to safeguard information about victims.