This story has been updated.

MONTREAL - Police on Sunday arrested one of four suspects in the brazen robbery at a Birks store in Pointe Claire Saturday in which a "considerable amount" of jewelry was stolen.

The 19-year-old man was arrested at 7 a.m. Sunday at a home on Shorecrest Ave. in the Chomedey district of Laval, Montreal police Constable Yannick Ouimet said.

Police were led there because a witness at the Fairview Mall in Pointe Claire, where the robbery took place, saw the licence plate of a getaway car used by the suspects.

The white Ford Escape was found at the Laval home of the suspect, Ouimet said.

The suspect is being questioned by police and could face charges of armed robbery, forcible confinement and use of a prohibited weapon, Ouimet said.

He could not say whether or not any of the stolen jewelry had been located. A raid of the suspect's Laval home was being carried out.

Ouimet estimated the value of the stolen jewels to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The men entered the high-end boutique in Fairview Mall just before 11 a.m. Saturday morning, armed only with pepper spray.

"They used the spray, smashed some glass cases, and then left with the jewelry," said Montreal police spokesperson Yanick Ouimet.

There were no firearms involved and nobody was seriously injured. The suspects were seen fleeing the scene in a white car, Ouimet said. Police are unsure whether or not their faces were covered.

Seven people, a mix of shoppers and employees, were sent to the hospital after being exposed to the spray, according to Benoit Garneau, chief of operations for Urgences Sante.

"It creates irritations to your eyes and your throat," Garneau said.

"Your eyes burn and you start to tear. The best remedy is to go to a well-ventilated area."

Effects usually disappear within a couple of hours, Garneau added.

Pepper spray is traditionally used for riot control and personal self-defence. It is rarely fatal.

Ten other people were treated for similar symptoms at the mall, but did not go to the hospital.

Because of the pepper spray in the air, a few stores near Birks were forced to evacuate. Birks remained closed during the day, and declined to comment on the incident.

This is not the first time this Birks location has been hit. In the summer of 2004, the store was robbed twice within two months. In those incidents, the robbers used guns and axes.

Within weeks of the robberies, police arrested eight people, who were accused of stealing $1.3 million worth of jewelry.

Because the investigation of Saturday's theft is ongoing, the value of the jewels has not yet been made public.

jmccallum@thegazette.canwest.com