Suspect in random bear spray attack in New Westminster at large: police

A photo shows the back of a New Westminster police officer's jacket. (Twitter, New Westminster Police Department)

The suspect in an early morning bear spray attack in New Westminster Monday is at large, and police believe the public can help find him.

Officers with the New Westminster Police Department were dispatched to the 1000 block of Carnarvon Street around 4:45 a.m. on March 6, over reports that someone had been assaulted by a stranger using bear spray, according to a statement issued Thursday.

“We believe the suspect and the victim are not known to one another,” Sgt. Andrew Leaver said in the release. “We believe there were witnesses who have not yet come forward.”

The suspect is described as a tall, white man, and Leaver says the victim was a man in his 20s.

“It would appear the suspect thought the victim had stolen from him,” Leaver wrote in an email to CTV News.

New Westminster police are asking anyone with information to contact them by calling 604-525-5411.