Codiac RCMP say they have arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with a bear spray incident at a Moncton fair.
RCMP say at 10:30 p.m. on Friday, they received a call that several people had been sprayed with bear spray at the Bill Lynch Fair on Mountain Rd.
“I was on the phone with the RCMP when it kind of all occurred because there had been a gentleman here, the one that was actually responsible we believe, that we wanted to have RCMP remove from the lot because he was harassing other kids who were here,” says Nathan Smithers, manager of East Coast Amusements.
It's unclear how many people were actually hit with the bear repellant. RCMP, Moncton Fire Department and EMS attended the scene where victims were either treated at the scene and released or transported to hospital for decontamination.
The fair was open Saturday, and will operate until Sunday night, as originally scheduled.
“The events of last night, we’re not going to let them deter us from trying to provide some family entertainment,” adds Nathan Smithers.
18-year-old Brendan Bastarache of Dieppe was arrested and charged with assault with a weapon. Bastarache remains in custody and is scheduled for a bail hearing in Moncton on June 5.
Police have not said if they’re looking for other people who may be connected to the attack, but are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact them or Crime Stoppers.
