Tensions between Hamilton high schools result in bear spray-fuelled fights, criminal charges, police say

Teenagers have been attacking each other with bear spray in recent weeks as tensions rise between high schools on the Mountain, say Hamilton police. 

On Nov. 25, police say they responded to an altercation involving multiple students near Nora Frances Henderson Secondary School on Upper Sherman Avenue. 

"Physical violence had erupted, and bear spray was discharged by some of the parties in attendance causing numerous injuries," said police in a media release Tuesday. 

One adult was charged with assault, one youth was diverted for assault with a weapon and four others were diverted for assault. 

Diversion is when police give youth a warning, caution or referral to a specific community program rather than charging them.

Sven Jordt, a U.S.-based expert in the use of pepper and bear sprays on humans, told CBC Manitoba last year that bear spray is often underestimated. 

Intended to stop a 400-pound animal, bear spray is a more powerful form of pepper spray, shoots at a greater distance and at a greater pressure. It is readily available at outdoor stores. 

It is "excruciatingly painful" for a person who is sprayed and can be especially dangerous for people with asthma, he said. 

"These are serious weapons and should be treated as such," Jordt said.

2 incidents this month

On Dec. 2, a student at St. Jean de Brébeuf Catholic Secondary School, on Acadia Drive, was found emptying a can of bear spray into a school drain, police say. 

The student was charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and mischief to property, police say.

The next day, police say they were called to the Ancaster Community Centre on Jerseyville Road W. to respond to a large gathering of students from Ancaster, Bishop Tonnos and St. Thomas Moore high schools.

A fight broke out and some of the teenagers sprayed bear spray at one another, police say. 

One youth was charged with possession of a prohibited weapon and assault with a weapon, while three others were diverted for possessing a prohibited weapon. 

They all have been suspended from their schools, as well, police say. 

Police are asking anyone with information to contact investigators or Crime Stoppers.