Bear spray continues to be a weapon of choice in Saskatoon with its use escalating over the weekend. A Saskatoon Police Service news release says officers were called to 10 separate bear spray incidents, all of which occurred in public spaces.

One of the incidents occurred on Saturday evening at about 8 o’clock when police were called to a City Transit bus that was parked in the 2500 block of 22nd Street West. Responding officers were told that two female suspects deployed bear spray towards a group of people on the bus, before the group of people chased the suspects off the bus. Paramedics came to the scene and treated all remaining passengers who appeared to be suffering from the effects of the bear spray. A short while later, one of the female suspects was located in a store in the 2400 block of 22nd Street West. She was detained by store employees after locating a can of bear spray in her possession. The 16-year-old is charged with four weapons-related offences plus mischief and breach of conditions.

A second incident happened on Sunday morning at around 11:30 a.m. at a shopping mall in the 200 block of 1st Avenue South. Mall security told SPS that, while escorting three people out of the building, one deployed bear spray at the security officer in a stairwell and fled before officers arrived.

One last incident in the SPS news release came from Sunday evening at about 7:30 p.m. as officers were called to a bear spray-related call at a restaurant in the 3500 block of 8th Street East. Police were told a male customer seated in the restaurant was approached by a male suspect who became confrontational with the victim prior to deploying bear spray at him. This assault is not believed to be random in nature and the suspect fled the restaurant on foot prior to officers arriving. Paramedics attended the restaurant to treat the remaining occupants.