Three people were taken to hospital the same day this week following separate but possibly linked assaults involving bear spray.
According to an RCMP release, police are investigating the incidents that occurred Monday, April 29, in central Nanaimo and involved unidentified young persons assaulting three adults.
The first incident was reported just after midnight in the hospital area of Dufferin Crescent and Grant Avenue, noted the release. A man experiencing homelessness said two unknown persons wearing dark clothing approached him from the direction of the former elementary school. According to the release, the man was attacked with bear spray and struck in the face with a metal baton. The woman accompanying him was not injured.
At 1:30 a.m. that same night, police responded to a report outside a supportive housing unit on Labieux Road to find a man suffering from the effects of bear spray and who had “an apparent knife wound,” noted the release. The man told police he was attacked by three younger males wearing dark clothing and balaclavas, first spotted near the roundabout on Labieux Road. After the attack, the suspects were seen running along a bike path toward the old Island Highway.
The release continued to note that at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Monday, along the old Island Highway near the Norwell Drive and Bowen Road intersection, the owner of a medical office reported that he was hit in the face with a blast of bear spray while chasing two youths, described as between 14-16 years old wearing a burgundy and dark-coloured sweaters, out of his business for yelling obscenities.
“These incidents are all disturbing given the randomness of each and the violence involved,” said reserve Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesperson, in the release. “Additionally, given the ages of the suspects, the description provided by the victims and weapons used, it appears that all three attacks may have been carried out by the same individuals.”
If anyone has information on any of these incidents, they are asked to call the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line 250-754-2345.
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