Police believe several Vancouver high school students were involved in an incident last week in which people waiting at a bus stop were hit with bear spray.
It happened last Tuesday on Hastings Street near Templeton Drive, a few blocks from Templeton Secondary School.
Video posted to social media shows a person dressed in black crossing the street before pulling out a canister and spraying people with a substance. They then run back across Hastings Street.
Vancouver police say they’ve spoken to both victims and witnesses, and believe the suspects are students from a nearby high school.
One local parent told Global News her son arrived at the scene shortly after the suspects took off.
“He and his friends were talking about it a lot and kids these days don’t admit when things stress them out, but I can’t imagine that it didn’t. It’s a very traumatic experience,” said Maia Griffiths, whose son attends Templeton.
“Usually when something happens that’s traumatic, there’s an email that goes out to the parents and an offer of help to any kids struggling with whatever it is, and there’s been nothing like that so far.”
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In a statement, the Vancouver School Board said safety remains a top priority and that bear spray is banned on school property.
However, it added that the incident happened after school hours and off school property.
“This is a police incident and an investigation by VPD is ongoing. In instances with incidents outside of school hours, staff at schools work directly with VPD if/as they require,” the district said.
Vancouver police said they are working with administrators and that an investigation is ongoing.
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