Mounties in Surrey, B.C., are investigating after pepper spray was used on a crowd of people watching a movie at the Guildford-area theatre.
Police said around 20 to 30 people, including children, were inside a theatre on March 25 at around 5:30 p.m. when a man entered Landmark Cinemas Surrey and deployed pepper spray.
“Our general investigation unit is actively working to identify the suspect,” said Surrey RCMP Corp. Vanessa Munn, adding that police do not yet have a motive for the incident.
“This was a disturbing assault on movie theatre patrons that will be fully investigated by police.”
Anyone with information can contact Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502.
Surrey RCMP said it is aware of other similar incidents and is looking if they are linked.
At Metrotown on Tuesday, bear spray was used inside the parkade of the mall around 7 p.m.
RCMP said either someone or a group of people used the bear spray on a number of victims.
The victims were treated by first responders outside the mall.
A few minutes later, officers said they received calls that two people outside of the mall were walking with what appeared to be a gun. Both of those people were arrested near Maywood School, according to police.
RCMP is investigating to see whether the events are connected.
Meanwhile, some municipalities, like Vancouver, are working to make it harder to purchase bear spray.
Vancouver city council voted unanimously Tuesday to restrict the sale and display of bear spray, following concerns expressed by the public and police.
Under the changes to the city’s licence bylaw, retailers will no longer be able to sell bear spray to anyone under the age of 19.
According to a city manager’s report, police recorded a 121 per cent increase in bear spray incidents involving youth in Vancouver between 2018 and 2022.
A Vancouver city councillor is pleased with the passing of bear spray regulations but also believes more needs to be done.
“I think the next phase we need to consider is how we regulate the possession of bear spray,” Pete Fry said.
“Looking perhaps at a bylaw offence act or how we can grapple with that. We know bear spray will be made available in other jurisdictions or online.
“There is rarely a legitimate reason for someone to be carrying bear spray in Vancouver, there are not a lot of bears here. Certainly, people carry it for personal defence but we are seeing an increase of people carrying bear spray for offensive reasons.”
Vancouver’s move follows recent restrictions in Surrey, Chilliwack and Port Coquitlam aimed at cutting down on violent bear spray incidents.
— with files from Simon Little