Group chokes on drifting bear spray in downtown Prince George

Photo: John Deacon/Courthouse Co.

A group of people were unwitting bear spray victims in Prince George this week.

About 7 p.m. Tuesday, Amelia Merrick was enjoying the spring evening with seven friends outside the Prince George courthouse when suddenly her chest started to hurt.

“I tried coughing, but it felt like there was a whole bunch of dust that had settled in my lungs and I couldn't draw breath. It was really scary. My eyes started to water and my skin was burning especially around my nose and my mouth.”

Then she noticed her friends were also gasping for breath.

“It was really quite terrifying and then all of a sudden, one of my friends shouted, ‘it's bear, spray’ and we think that's what happened.”

Merrick says just moments before a car had driven by, and the group assumed the car was the perpetrator of the bear spray attack.

“I'm not sure if we were targeted specifically or if somebody else is being targeted and we were just bystanders,” said Merrick, adding that she has heard of a number of unreported bear spray attacks over the last few weeks.

She says she was able to call police and was immediately connected to emergency services.

Const. Jennifer Cooper of the Prince George RCMP says she believes the incident was the result of an altercation between downtown residents that occurred down the street, and the group of friends at the courthouse caught the pepper spray on the breeze.

“It’s not uncommon as many people use bear spray as protection,” says Cooper. “Bear spray is easily accessible and can be concealed in a backpack so a lot of downtown residents will carry it on them.”

However, Merrick feels the incident is another symptom of the complex social crisis facing the city.

“I don't believe that our elected officials are doing enough to address our complex social crisis,” said Merrick.

“What we're seeing in Prince George is the criminalization of poverty and a severe lack of social services and together, with this political apathy toward the well-being of our overall community it's going to continue to perpetuate acts of violence like this.”