A parking lot dispute in Nanaimo resulted in a family being bear sprayed earlier this week.
The incident occurred at approximately 12:45pm on Monday May 20th in the parking lot of Walmart located at Woodgrove Centre. Police, fire crews and BCEHS all responded to the incident.
Investigators were able to speak with the wife at the scene who was not sprayed. Her husband and four children were bear sprayed and received medical attention.
The mother told police her family was attempting to find a parking stall for their truck and large boat they were trailering when they were “cut off by a man” driving a dark coloured SUV that resembled a Hummer.
Both drivers got out of their vehicles and “exchanged heated words”. The woman says things escalated further when the driver of the dark coloured vehicle bear sprayed her husband, contaminating her children.
In retaliation, her husband grabbed a tire iron from their vehicle and smashed a window of the SUV. The driver fled the scene and was last seen driving south on Highway 19A.
More local news:
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The bear spray suspect is described as a Caucasian male in his 60’s with grey hair. He was wearing a green shirt at the time. No license plate was obtained for his vehicle.
“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.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345.