Drunken 'pool noodle' fight turns bloody in North Vancouver

Believe it or not, an “altercation of sorts” involving high school students fighting with the foam pool toys sent one teenager to hospital with serious injuries.

According to the North Shore News, North Vancouver RCMP were issued a notice just after 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 18 that a large group of high school students were fighting with pipes on the 1000-block of Doran Road in Lynn Valley.

When police arrived, they found an 18-year-old man bleeding profusely from his back after allegedly being stabbed.

“As the investigation unfurled, it was made evident that two groups of people from two different high schools were in an altercation of sorts,” Corporal Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman, told the North Shore News.

Police soon determined that the teens were not fighting with pipes, but foam pool noodles.

“Two males started at it, pushing back and forth and hitting each other with those noodles,” De Jong continued. “That’s where it gets interesting… Alcohol definitely was a contributing factor here.”

The injured man had been knocked down by a noodle and fallen on his back. At the time, he was wearing a backpack with a glass bottle of rum inside, which consequently shattered on impact. A shard of glass pierced into the man’s back causing a deep and serious wound. He was immediately treated by paramedics and rushed to Lions Gate Hospital. As of April 22, the man was still being treated in hospital.

“The victim is just very lucky (paramedics) were there immediately to render first aid,” De Jong added to the newspaper. “He could have bled out if there wasn’t first aid available. If it had punctured his lung, he would have died for sure.”

RCMP are not considering any charges in the incident, but are speaking with school staff to alert them of the event.