A parking lot dispute at the Walmart in Woodgrove Centre, Nanaimo, turned violent on Monday, leading to the use of bear spray and the smashing of a vehicle window with a tire iron.Police found a family of six — parents and their four children aged one to six — who had been affected by bear spray. The children and their father were treated on-site by paramedics and did not require further medical treatment.According to the wife, who was not sprayed, the family was trying to park their truck and trailer a large boat when a man driving a dark-colored SUV, resembling a Hummer, cut them off. The confrontation between the two drivers escalated quickly."Both drivers got out of their respective vehicles and exchanged heated words," said R/Cst Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP. "The driver of the dark-colored vehicle then produced a can of bear spray and sprayed it at the other man, contaminating his children."In retaliation, the sprayed man retrieved a tire iron from his vehicle and smashed a window of the SUV. The attacker then fled the scene, driving south on Hwy. 19A.The suspect is described as a Caucasian man in his 60s, with grey hair, wearing a green shirt. No licence plate number was recorded.“This was a situation where if cooler heads had prevailed, this dispute could have been resolved without resorting to this level of violence,” said O’Brien.The Nanaimo RCMP is asking anyone with information about the incident or the identity of the man who used the bear spray to contact their non-emergency line at 250-754-2345.
