A 20-year-old security guard has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a man died following an altercation at a Longueuil shopping mall, police said Wednesday.
Longueuil police said they were called to the IGA supermarket at Centre Jacques-Cartier on Chambly Rd. around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday in response to a report of an unconscious man following the intervention of a security guard.
The man, 42, was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead.
The guard reportedly choked the man, who was allegedly thought to have stolen something, according to two sources who were not authorized to speak to journalists. The incident had happened inside the store.
The security guard was taken into the custody of Longueuil police but was later released. Police said charges could be laid once the file is submitted to Quebec’s Crown prosecutor’s office.
On Wednesday, police were still trying to determine the sequence of events leading to the man’s death.
By Wednesday, the grocery store had also returned to normal. Some security guards were on site.
A security guard can search a customer’s bag but only if the customer provides consent to do so — or if there are reasonable grounds to believe the customer has stolen an item, such as being caught in the act, according to the consumer advocacy organization Assistance Créance.
It says that a security guard may also carry out a citizen’s arrest only if the person is caught committing a criminal offence.