A Lethbridge man has been arrested in connection with a drive-by paintball shooting at the supervised consumption services site (SCS) in Lethbridge on Saturday.
Police have charged 29-year-old Jesse John James Bulman, of Lethbridge, with three counts of assault with a weapon and one count each of possession of a weapon dangerous to the public and mischief to property.
Police said over the weekend paintballs were fired from a moving truck at multiple people outside the SCS.
Just after midnight, police allege a white Dodge truck drove past and someone fired multiple paintballs.
Two males were able to avoid being struck but a female staff member was hit multiple times in the leg, arm, torso and face. Police said the truck returned seconds later and fired additional paintballs.
“To think that things like that are happening here and people are driving by and literally have no respect for people or property… it’s just disgusting,” said James Francis, who had been working across the street from ARCHES for just over a week when the drive-by occured.
“I mean that’s the last thing we need. It makes you feel like you’re living in a big city, and Lethbridge is a pretty tight-knit community.”
ARCHES executive director Stacey Bourque says she’s seen some shocking comments online, both before and after the assault.
“We don’t promote any kind of hate speech,” said Const. Ryan Darroch with the Lethbridge Police Service.
Darroch said that although police are not actively hunting people down on social media, and that they would prefer not to spend their resources combing through “keyboard warrior” posts, anyone who chooses to share threats online “may find themselves the subject of a police investigation.”
Police said multiple tips from the public helped identify Bulman, who was arrested at his home on Sunday without incident. A paintball gun was also seized.
Bulman is currently in custody and is scheduled to make a court appearance in Lethbridge on Tuesday.