The auto shop owner who was shot while trying to retrieve stolen items from a Nanaimo encampment came through surgery well on Wednesday but still has a bullet in his abdomen, his sister said Thursday morning.
Clint Smith will have further surgery to remove the bullet when his condition improves, Robin Zohner said.
The 49-year-old Lantzville resident remained in an induced coma Thursday morning but is expected to be gradually woken up later in the day, she said.
Her younger brother was taken to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital on Sunday afternoon after he was shot. Family said a .22 rifle was used.
Smith and some friends had gone to an encampment off Terminal Avenue, located at the foot of a ravine next to the Millstone River, to retrieve some property stolen from his auto repair business.
An altercation ensured and Smith and his group ran up the ravine, amid gunfire, toward their vehicles parked across the road.
Police are investigating. No charges have been announced.
Zohner hopes that what happened to her brother will lead to some change in the community. The Nanaimo Area Public Safety organization is staging a public rally at 11 a.m. in Nanaimo’s Pearson Park, One Terminal Ave., on Thursday.
Smith is known for his involvement in the community and for helping others in need. He is normally an active person who loves hiking and kayaking, his sister said.
He was raised in Prince George and in a small community near Campbell River, where his grandfather owned a business called Ernie’s Blackpoint Repair.
His grandfather taught him the basics of mechanics, “which he loved,” said his father-in-law, Paul Leslie, a retired pastor at a Nanaimo church.
When Smith opened his own business about three years ago, he named it after his grandfather’s company.
Smith has a teenage son from a previous marriage.
Leslie said his outgoing son-in-law has given back to the community in many ways. For the past couple of Christmases, his garage has been used as a depot for a local toy drive. He helps others who are “down on their luck” and has been involved in community cleanup efforts.
He has hauled scrap cars to the Lantzville Fire Department to be used for practice. Smith has also fixed up and given a couple of cars to single parents at no cost, said Leslie, who called his son-in-law a friendly and gentle person. “He has got one of the most generous hearts that I know of.”
Prior to the most recent thefts, Smith had experienced a number of break-ins at his business, along with damage to vehicles on his lot and the theft of equipment that’s necessary to his work, Leslie said.
In the most recent case, a table saw, a portable lift and hand tools were taken from a shed at the rear of the site.
While he is in hospital, Smith’s three employees are taking care of the shop.
Leslie said the family is thankful for the support and “outpouring of love and generosity” from the community.”
An online fundraising campaign had raised more than $18,500 through 224 donations by Wednesday afternoon.
In a recent post on Ernie’s Blackpoint Repair’s Facebook page, Smith wrote: “My empathy for marginalized people is strong. Being homeless does not necessarily mean you are a bad person. … Being homeless is not a crime.”
The business hands out cold water in the summer and toques and food in the winter, the post said.
“I can actually identify with the hardships these people suffer, as I’ve experienced it myself as a young man.”
Clean Streets Penticton will have a representative at Thursday’s rally. Jason Reynen, one of its spokespeople, said Wednesday that he wants Nanaimo to know “that there is support out there and together we can make a difference.
“I know it is a difficult time, especially with everything going on in every city,” said Reynen. He said he has also been involved in retrieving stolen property. “Obviously you always want to do it in a non-confrontational way.”
“I’m one for standing up for our rights, being able to take back what is ours.”
It’s important to be vigilant about what is happening in a community without being a vigilante, said Reynen, who would like to see repeat offenders jailed and those who commit theft of less than $5,000 subject to stiffer penalties.
The province announced this week it is dedicating $25 million over three years for police-prosecutor-probation officer teams throughout B.C. to concentrate on repeat violent offenders to improve community safety.
