A father was bear sprayed and a SUV window was smashed with a tire iron over a parking stall dispute in BC this week, police say.
The incident happened on Monday, around 12:45 pm, in the parking lot of the Walmart located in the Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo.
A man, his wife and their four children were inside their vehicle, trying to find a parking spot “suitable” for their truck and large boat they were towing, a release says.
However, they were reportedly cut off by a man driving a dark coloured SUV.
.jpeg)
“Both drivers got out of their respective vehicles and exchanged heated words,” says Cst. Gary O’Brien with the Nanaimo RCMP.
“The interaction quickly escalated when the driver of the dark coloured vehicle produced a can of bear spray and sprayed it at the other man.”
The driver who was sprayed then allegedly grabbed a tire iron from his truck and smashed out a window on the SUV. The driver of the SUV then drove away.
According to the release, the man and his children, ranging from one to six-years-old, were all “contaminated” with the bear spray and were given medical treatment at the scene by paramedics.
Now police are trying to find the suspect who is described as Caucasian man in his 60’s with grey hair and was wearing a green shirt. No plate was obtained for his vehicle, the release says.
“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,” Cst. O’Brien says in the release.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Nanaimo RCMP at (250) 754-2345.
