Bear spray incident shuts down new Wascana Pool on opening day
Following a reported bear-spray incident, Regina’s Wascana Pool was shut down on the day of its much-anticipated reopening.
One pool patron told CTV News their eyes started to burn while they were swimming and they had to be washed out.
Regina Police Service (RPS) confirmed it was called to the scene Thursday afternoon following the incident.
Around 2:10 p.m., officers were called to the pool for a report of a weapons incident, according to a release from RPS. When they got there, they found upwards of 200 people who were suffering from the effects of bear spray.
Witnesses told police that a group of four or five teenage boys wearing balacklavas and other face coverings went into the facility and discharged the bear speay.
The RPS patrol unit, canine unit, and officers from the investigative services unit are invesitgating.
In an update sent to media later in the day, the City of Regina said police responded to an incident involving an altercation in a changerorom.
The pool will re-open on Friday, but increased security measures, including having security guards on site, will be implemented, the city said.
A Facebook video posted by Janna Pratt shows the moments following the incident.
While recounting what happened, she said she and many others saw the incident at the pool.
Pratt later told CTV News she was at the pool opening with her son, and her daughter — who has special needs and in palliative care — as guests of the city to review accessibility.
“We had just finished changing in the change rooms, found a bench for my son and to park [my daughter],” Pratt explained in a message. “I had left them to find a lifeguard to help me with getting her into the pool.”
She said as they were in the storage area getting a water wheelchair available at the pool, a "boy who appeared to have been sprayed in the face darted behind her, towards his mom.
“He looked to be about 12-14 years old,” Pratt said.
"His mom raced him towards the showers, I was telling to my kids to back up, as I was across the pool from them, I did get traces of the mace in my eyes and throat but it didn't bother me at the time as I was worried about my kids' safety,” Pratt said.
When she found a way to get back to her kids without going through the bear spray mist hanging in the air, everyone tried to leave, Pratt said.
“We couldn't leave because the back gates were locked and we were forced to wait on the lawn area,” she said. “The exit gate was across from where we were but it wasn’t accessible, so we waited, as to get there you had to go through to cloud”
She said it took a while to reach an available exit gate, which she said was hard to get her daughter's wheelchair through.
“We had to get help to leave through that gate,” she said. “The group of kids that sprayed that crap, my son saw them.”
"We were looking forward to this all week, especially in this heat."
"It sprayed everywhere, all of the people cleared the pool.," she said in the video.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.