Buccaneer Days celebrations on the weekend in Esquimalt were marred by multiple reports of assaults as well as the theft of cash from a high school fundraiser, all believed to have been instigated by youths.
Chantelle Frauenfelder said she was walking with her partner near Memorial Park after attending the fair when they heard yelling shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday.
“We thought maybe it was police, because we heard some saying: ‘Get down! Get down!’ ” Frauenfelder said.
What she found was 15 to 20 teenagers involved in a brawl. “A bunch of them were beating another teenager on the ground,” she said.
“So I ran in blindly and tried to break them up.”
The teen got up and ran away without his shirt after she intervened, said Frauenfelder, adding a number of teenagers looked like they had been recently bear-sprayed.
“There was definitely a strong smell of mace in the air.”
Most of the youths left when they heard Frauenfelder was going to report the incident to police, she said.
Later, one of the youths returned her cellphone, which had been dropped on the ground during the fracas, she said.
Police said when officers arrived, they found four youths who were bear-sprayed.
The youths, who did not provide descriptions of their assailants, were given first aid by paramedics, police said in a statement.
Frauenfelder, who has lived in Esquimalt for 10 years, said there are troubled kids and sketchy characters in the neighbourhood, but she’s never seen big groups of youths acting like that.
About 30 minutes later, Zachary Harper was waiting at a bus stop near the intersection of Esquimalt and Fernhill roads after attending Buccaneer Days events when he was approached by about 10 to 15 youths.
One teenager said he had been bear-sprayed and was acting aggressively, he said.
After Harper, who was using a cane because of recent hip-replacement surgery, told them to leave and turned to go back to the bus stop, the teen pushed him over from behind, Harper said.
Then three or four youths rushed over and started hitting him while he was on the ground, he said. “I literally turtled. I couldn’t do anything,” he said. “They kicked my hip where my surgery had been done and opened up the gash. I think they broke one of my ribs.”
Harper’s wife, Marie Croquette, said some of the youths who did not participate in the beating were laughing as they filmed the assault.
Croquette said she was also hit multiple times and suffered bruises.
Police said they believe that the attack, which occurred around 10:40 p.m., was random.
A witness reported to police that a woman in a mobility scooter was bear-sprayed by a group of youths near Esquimalt Road and Dominion Road shortly before 11:15 p.m. That victim has yet to speak to police, the witness said.
In all instances, officers were unable to locate the suspects, as they had left the area, police said.
Earlier in the day, a cash box containing about $1,800 was stolen from an Esquimalt High School robotics team fundraiser at Bullen Park.
Tina O’Keeffe, a teacher at Esquimalt High, said the theft was a big blow to the team, the Atom Smashers, who had raised the money by selling food. “It was probably the best day we’ve had in six years.”
A few students gave chase but were unable to locate the thief, who looked to be about 12 and was wearing turquoise-blue basketball shorts and a light-coloured top, she said.
Police have obtained security-camera footage of the suspect from a nearby store but have not publicized the images as the suspect is likely a minor, O’Keeffe said.
There’s no evidence the incident was gang-related, but she said it’s common for younger members of gangs or groups to be sent to steal things.
“They’ll get the young kids to do stuff like that so that if they get caught, it’s not the older one that is going to go and get a lot of problems for it. The young ones, they might [just] get a slap on the wrist.
Mayor Barb Desjardins said she was upset and disappointed after hearing about Saturday’s incidents. “This is not at all common. It’s so unusual, and I think that’s why we’re concerned.”
“Even VicPD has said that this is just not something that has happened in recent years. I want people to be assured that we are looking into it.”
Police are asking anyone who was a victim of assault or who has any additional information about the incidents, including security video, to contact the report desk at 250-995-7654, extension 1.
