Photo: Jon Manchester

UPDATE: 12:45 p.m.

A 42-year-old man from Chase is facing a grab bag of charges after the mayhem in downtown Kelowna Friday morning.

Kelowna RCMP said they are contemplating charges of assault, robbery, aggravated assault, assault of a police officer and resisting arrest.

Along with attacking a man in an alley, carjacking a vehicle from two young women, ramming a police car and then assaulting an officer, police said he also stole a child's backpack.

"It’s alleged that the suspect ... stole a child’s backpack being carried by the child’s father. The suspect allegedly assaulted the father, a 45-year-old man in front of his eight-year-old daughter, before fleeing the second scene in a grey Ford sedan," said police in a news release.

Police took the rare action of thanking a group of construction workers who stepped in to help a police officer being attacked by the man.

“Nearby construction workers were quick to jump into action to assist the police officer still stunned from the impact of the collision,” said Kelowna RCMP Const. Jesse O’Donaghey. “They aided the officer in controlling the suspect who was subsequently taken into police custody.”

“The Kelowna RCMP wish to extend their gratitude to all those who immediately jumped into action, who stepped up and put themselves at risk to help the RCMP officer,” he said.

ORIGINAL

It was like grand theft auto in downtown Kelowna this morning.

A witness told Castanet a man randomly attacked someone behind the BNA bar about 8 a.m. then carjacked a vehicle from two young women to escape.

“He was reckless driving like he was in Grand Theft Auto or something," said a witness who saw the assault and tailed the vehicle.

"He was jumping over curbs, trying to hit people."

The witness alerted police before following the Ford Five Hundred sedan to the downtown museum parking lot, where the carjacker tried to lay low.

However, thanks to the witness, police knew exactly where he was and tried to block him in.

“He rammed the police cruiser — T-boned him — jumped out of his vehicle, climbed on his hood and was trying to pull the police officer out of his vehicle," said the man. "That’s when a handful of construction workers overpowered the man so the cop could get out of the cruiser and actually arrest the individual.”

Kelowna RCMP Const. Jesse O'Donaghey said the officer whose vehicle was rammed had just arrived outside the museum after being alerted by witnesses to what was happening.

The officer and the suspect were both taken to hospital and are being treated for minor non-life threatening injuries.