Police are asking for the public's assistance in locating a suspect wanted for theft and assault with bear spray.

Just before 11 p.m. on July 4, Portage la Prairie RCMP received a call of a robbery at a business on Saskatchewan Avenue West in Portage la Prairie.

Police say the suspect had taken an item from inside the business and left without paying and when an employee from that business followed the suspect outside, the suspect sprayed bear spray in the face of the employee and fled the area.

The suspect is still at large and police are asking anyone with information that could lend assistance in the investigation to contact the Portage la Prairie RCMP.