One man is in hospital with a serious injury and two others are in police custody after a shooting near a homeless camp Wednesday afternoon in Nanaimo.
RCMP poured into the area after reports of gunfire near the camp at 3:30 p.m. in the 200 block of Terminal Avenue — the same location where a Nanaimo businessman was shot in March.
The camp is at the foot of a steep hill next to the Millstone River.
When officers arrived at the camp on Wednesday, they found a man with a life-threatening injury, believed to have been caused by a firearm, police said.
Police provided emergency first aid and were able to stabilize the individual, who was transported by ambulance to hospital.
Two men were taken into police custody. No charges have been laid and officers are continuing to investigate, said RCMP Reserve Constable Gary O’Brien.
Police were expected to be at the scene for most of Thursday.
Meanwhile, RCMP were called out at the same time to a report that another man had been stabbed in the 100 block of Victoria Road.
The victim, whose injuries were considered minor, was not co-operative and no suspects have been identified, police said. He was was treated at hospital and later released.
“This incident was unrelated to the shooting but did require additional police resources to respond and to investigate properly,” O’Brien said.
Clint Smith, the Nanaimo resident who was shot in March at the same place, said his first reaction to Wednesday’s shooting near Terminal Avenue was “shock, anger.”
Smith, who lost 20 per cent of his colon after being shot, had gone to the encampment with some of his friends looking for items stolen from his auto-repair business.
Residents of the city have been holding public-safety rallies for several months.
Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said it was “no surprise, sadly” to hear of Wednesday’s shooting.
“It will not get better until senior governments deal seriously and effectively with the significant mental health, addiction, brain injury and trauma issues that characterize far too many people who are unhoused and living lives of utter misery,” he said.
It’s dangerous for bylaw officers, community safety officers or police to go to the encampment area given that is not easily accessible, Krog said.
“It has become a bit of a hideout and a refuge for people who have no other place to live.”
