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
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.
Australian police arrest 7 alleged teen extremists linked to stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church
Australian police arrested seven teenagers accused of following a violent extremist ideology in raids across Sydney on Wednesday, as a judge extended a ban on social media platform X sharing video of a knife attack on a bishop that started the criminal investigation.