Halifax Regional Police are investigating the death of a 19-year-old woman at a Walmart after receiving a call that the employee was locked in a bakery oven.
Officers were called to the Walmart store on Mumford Road in the city’s west end at 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 19 where they found the woman dead, police said in a press release.
“Investigators are working closely with Occupational Health and Safety and the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service to determine the cause and manner of death,” police said in the Oct. 21 statement. “The investigation is in the early stages and no further details are available at this time.”
While police are releasing few details about the woman’s death and subsequent investigation, a recording of the 9-1-1 call received by dispatchers confirmed the employee was trapped in a large baking oven.
“Female is locked in an oven in the bakery. Oven is on,” the dispatcher told emergency responders. “Unsure if the staff are able to turn it off.”
The store was shut down after the incident occurred Oct. 19 and remains temporarily closed as the company cooperates with the police investigation, Walmart spokesperson Amanda Moss said.
“We are heartbroken and our deepest thoughts are with our associate and their family,” Moss said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times. “We extend our sincerest condolences to those who were closest to them.”
Walmart is providing staff members with access to 24/7 virtual care and on-site support, including grief counselling, Moss said.
She declined to release any further details about the incident “out of respect for the associate and their family” and referred further inquiries to Halifax police.
Police did not answer any questions about cause of death or the victim’s identity and instead referred The Epoch Times to its Oct. 21 statement.
