Pangnirtung store employee assaulted in late-night break and enter

A Northern Store employee in Pangnirtung was assaulted after trying to stop an early morning intruder April 20. (FILE PHOTO)

An employee at the Northern store in the Nunavut community of Pangnirtung was assaulted this week after trying to stop a burglary at the store.

During the early hours of April 20, the employee was alerted to the intruder by an alarm that went off at the store. But once the employee arrived, a man assaulted the employee.

The intruder fled the building, but was later arrested by members of the Pangnirtung RCMP, police said in an April 21 release.

Jake Battye, 23, faces five charges in connection to the robbery and assault: break and enter, aggravated assault, mischief, possession of weapons for a dangerous purpose and one count of theft.

Battye remains in custody and will appear May 3 at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit.

Police say the incident is still under investigation.

The employee, who suffered non-life threatening injuries, was medevaced to Iqaluit.

In its release, the Nunavut RCMP encouraged business owners, employees and residents to call police when they learn about any criminal activity.

“RCMP members are trained to attend calls for service and encourage the public to observe and report and remain out of harm’s way, if at all possible,” the RCMP said in its April 21 release.

The Northern store in Pangnirtung has been a target for robbery in the recent past; last October the store was broken into twice in the same month.