Man assaulted with bear spray, then robbed in Nanaimo park

Nanaimo RCMP are looking for a group of teens after they assaulted a 46-year-old man with bear spray and then robbed him.

The incident happened on Thursday around 8 p.m. near the picnic shelter in Bowen Park.

According to police, the man was sitting on a park bench when a group of teens approached him.

One male youth in the group made small talk with the man and then fogged him with bear spray.

The group grabbed the man’s two backpacks and ran off towards the cemetery on Howard Avenue.

Police were unable to track down the group, but a police services dog managed to find one of the man’s bags.

The second backpack is described as black with colourful stars and contained the man’s clothing and other personal belongings.

The young man who sprayed the 46-year-old is described as white, in his early 20s with light coloured short hair.

Anyone with information is asked to call Nanaimo RCMP at [phone] or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.