Nanaimo business owner shot at ‘entrenched encampment’: Community group

Concerns around public safety in Nanaimo have reached a tipping point after a shooting over the weekend.

The Newcastle Community Association (NCA) says a local business owner and some friends went to, what it describes as, an “entrenched encampment,” to get back some of his items that had reportedly been stolen. The NCA says the man was shot three times Sunday afternoon and rushed to the hospital where he said to have undergone emergency surgery.

The encampment has been a concern for years, the association says, and locals feel it’s a “major source of crime, violence, and social disorder,” adding it’s well-known to both city bylaw officers and the Mounties.

Association Vice-President Fred MacDonald says he lives about 200 metres from the site.

“We want to feel like we can walk outside our doors. My granddaughter, who lives with us, will not take the dog out for a walk. She’s 15-and-a-half years old. She will not walk in her own neighbourhood, and this is a growing concern for her. What will she do now? Can we say, ‘Well, you can take the dog around the block and just be careful of the bullets in the back?’ It’s incomprehensible,” he said.

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The group is using this incident to get the attention of City of Nanaimo officials and the B.C. government — hoping either does something to address the issue.

“We need simple policing. We need to feel like we can go outside and take a walk in this beautiful, waterfront community. Can I tell my 85-year-old neighbour across the street that she can go out again this afternoon? It’s a tough day in the Newcastle neighbourhood. Every incident we talk about just gets worse. So, this one, we’re still reeling from it,” added MacDonald.

He does point out they are not ignored by officials but feel they’re listened to but there’s next to no action.

MacDonald says numerous businesses, like gas stations and restaurants, have closed their doors in the area because of the uptick in violence.

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog has heard the same details about the alleged incident and describes it as disturbing.

“The thought that anyone would go into an encampment like that, seeking retrieval of goods is dangerous. It’s had a horrible result. I’m very worried about that and very concerned about, obviously, the presence of any weapons amongst people who are living in the streets,” he told CityNews.

Several weeks ago, a group of residents in Nanaimo rallied to voice their concerns about public safety. The mayor was in attendance.

“Mayors across the province and I’m a member of the B.C. Urban Mayors’ Caucus have been calling on the government for some time to deal with the mental health, addictions, trauma and brain injury crisis in our streets. I’ve called repeatedly myself for secure and voluntary care. There is a level of street crime associated with drug use and abuse that is unacceptable,” said Krog, who isn’t a fan of the federal government’s so-called “catch-and-release” policy.

“This is one more example, I hope it’s a genuine wake-up call for senior levels of government. We can’t continue like this.”

Krog, who says he wasn’t surprised at the reported violence, says they’ve allotted funding in the city’s budget to hire and continue hiring more police officers to increase patrols, but he wants people to know city hall can only do so much.

“We’re doing what we can within the jurisdiction and legal responsibility of municipal government. We are absolutely reliant on the federal and provincial governments to deal with the street crisis that is just that, a crisis in all of the streets of the communities in this province and indeed across the country.”

Meanwhile, a special committee created to help the unhoused find a place to live says it will begin its work as of Apr. 1.

Two people taken into custody

In a statement Monday, Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien confirms officers responded to reports of an “altercation” in the area of Mill Street and Barsby Avenue.

“While responding, officers located a group of adults in a parking lot on Terminal Ave. One of these individuals had an apparent gun shot wound. BC paramedics attended and transported the victim to hospital for emergency medical treatment. This individual remains in hospital and is believed to be in stable condition,” O’Brien said.

Two people have been taken into custody on unrelated warrants, O’Brien notes, while a gun was later found and seized by police.

“Investigators believe this incident was the result of a group of individuals who went to the encampment to retrieve stolen property, and as a result, an altercation ensued,” O’Brien said.

Police are urging anyone with information or footage of the incident to contact the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345.