Nanaimo RCMP are investigating a dispute over a parking stall at Walmart that quickly erupted into violence involving both bear spray and a tire iron.
The incident occurred on Monday, May 20th at around 12:45 p.m. in the parking lot of Walmart located in the Woodgrove Centre.
Police and other emergency personnel responded to the report, and officers located a husband and wife and their four children involved in the dispute.
The man and his children, ranging in age from one to six, were all said to have been contaminated to some degree by the bear spray, and everyone was treated at the scene.
Investigators spoke with the wife, who was not sprayed. She said that her, her husband and their children were trying to find a parking stall for their truck and large boat. While maneuvering into a stall, they were cut off by a man driving a dark coloured SUV that they described as resembling a Hummer vehicle.
Police said both drivers got out of their vehicles and exchanged heated words. The interaction then escalated when the driver of the dark coloured vehicle allegedly grabbed a can of bear spray and sprayed it at the other man, some of which reached his children.
The driver who was sprayed then grabbed a tire iron from his vehicle and smashed out a window on the SUV. The other driver retreated to his Hummer-esque vehicle and drove off.
He was last seen driving south on Highway 19A.
The man who produced the bear spray was described as a Caucasian man in his 60s with grey hair and was wearing a green shirt. No plate number was obtained.
“This was a situation where if cooler heads had prevailed, this dispute could have been resolved without resorting to this level of violence,” said R/Cst Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP.
If anyone has information on this incident or the identity of the man who produced the bear-spray, call Nanaimo RCMP at (250) 754-2345.
