A man says he was attacked by a stranger in downtown Vancouver last weekend in yet another unprovoked assault involving bear spray.
The man, who asked to keep his identity private, was walking home from school along Howe Street just before 12:30 am on August 6 when a young man approached from his right side.
The attacker used pepper spray on the victim and then ran away.
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The victim said he tried to go after the attacker, but the bear spray burned his eyes and he couldn’t see the assailant’s face.
“I had a panic attack and started to scream for help,” he said.
A group of people who had been sitting in Robson Square came over to help and offered him a water bottle and napkins to cool the burning sensation.
The victim’s first language is Spanish and, luckily, some of the bystanders spoke Spanish as well.
The group called 911 for an ambulance, but the victim said one never came. Some of his school friends arrived at the scene and called an Uber to take him to the hospital.
The victim reported what happened to police but says he hasn’t heard back from them yet. Daily Hive also asked the Vancouver Police Department for comment but has received no response.
The victim described his attacker as a man in his late teens or early 20s, about five feet tall, and wearing black pants, a black hoodie, and a black and red cap.
“I hope my story helps somehow to stop these awful things against innocent people,” he said.
There’s been a string of assaults with bear spray around the Lower Mainland this spring and summer, and videos of the attacks sometimes appear on social media afterward. No police agency has confirmed the attacks are related, and in many instances, the suspects have not been identified.
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