19-year-old Winnipeg man held at gunpoint, assaulted, tied up during Bitcoin transaction

A 19-year-oldman was held at gunpoint, assaulted and tied up during what was supposed to be a Bitcoin transactionon Monday evening, police said in a news release Wednesday.

Police met with the man around 5 p.m. Monday at a hospital where he went to have his injuries treated.

The 19-year-old told police he arranged to meet someone from social media in the parking lot of a Winnipeg high school with the intention ofexchanginghis money forBitcoin.

When he got into the person's car, he was immediately held at gunpoint, assaulted, tied up and driven around by a man who demanded his money, Winnipeg police public information officer Const. Dani McKinnon said.

When the vehicle eventually stopped, he escaped and ran for help. He was treated for his injuries and released from the hospital.

Later that evening, police arrested a 22-year-old Winnipeg man on Broadway near the Manitoba legislature.

The suspect ischarged with armed robbery using a firearm, pointing a firearm, two counts of assault with a weapon, forcible confinement, uttering threats to kill, failure to comply with an undertaking and two counts of possession of a firearm orrestrictedweapon.