An altercation over a parking stall at a Nanaimo Walmart resulted in four children between ages one and six being sprayed with bear spray.
The Nanaimo RCMP is investigating the incident, which began as a dispute over a parking spot and escalated into bear spray being deployed and, in retaliation, a vehicle window being smashed with a tire iron.
The altercation took place around 12:45 pm on Monday, May 20, in the Walmart parking lot at Woodgrove Centre. Emergency services, including police, fire, and BC Emergency Health Services, responded to the scene.
Officers found that the father and his four children were all affected to some extent by the bear spray. The family received medical treatment at the scene.
Investigators interviewed the children’s mother, who was not sprayed, and told the RCMP that they were trying to park their truck and trailer when a man in a dark SUV resembling a Hummer cut them off.
The mother claimed heated words were exchanged between the two drivers after they exited their vehicles. The driver of the SUV then sprayed bear spray at the other man, contaminating his children.
In retaliation, the sprayed driver grabbed a tire iron from his vehicle and smashed a window of the SUV.
The SUV driver fled the scene, last seen heading south on Highway 19A.
“This was a situation where if cooler heads had prevailed, this dispute could have been resolved without resorting to this level of violence,” said Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP.
The suspect who used the bear spray is described as a Caucasian man in his 60s with grey hair. He was wearing a green shirt. His vehicle’s licence plate number was not recorded.