Salmon Arm RCMP are investigating a bear spray attack that involved several people and a hit-and-run with a vehicle.
Just after 3 a.m. on Wednesday, April 19, Salmon Arm officers responded to a call at Beatty Avenue and Narcisse Street NW, said Staff Sgt. Scott West in a media release.
Three people in a car stopped at the end of Narcisse Street where a man has been living in a tent. One of the people from the vehicle bear sprayed the man in the tent. West said the victim was able to protect himself somewhat from the bear spray, and got into a fight with two of the men who attacked him. All three attackers then fled the scene.
The vehicle the suspects arrived in had been left running at the scene and a fourth individual, unrelated to the original attack, got in and drove the vehicle into the suspects, hitting them. The fourth suspect then parked the vehicle in a nearby vacant lot and abandoned it, fleeing. Police have not been able to identify this suspect, West said.
The two men involved in the initial bear spray attack were arrested and taken to hospital for injuries.
West confirmed two of the suspects are from another community. He also said two suspects were released with strict no-contact conditions.
The motive of the attack is unknown and police continue to investigate, but West said police anticipate the case will be referred to provincial Crown counsel for charge assessment in the next month.
In mid-March, the city began moving tenters who’d been camped at 3rd Street SW to another city owned property at at 350 Narcisse St. The city said the fenced property would be monitored “and supported by City bylaw enforcement and other community partners who will continue to work on facilitating alternative arrangements for those who shelter there.”
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rebecca.willson@saobserver.net
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