‘Instant panic feeling:’ Regina man among those hit with bear spray at new pool

A Regina man says he plans to go back to the new Wascana Pool even though he was a victim of the bear spray incident on Thursday.

Garth, who didn’t want his last name used in this story to avoid possible repercussions, said he hopes the incident was a “one-off” situation and doesn’t want to let it deter him from going back.

“It’s really unfortunate that these punks decided to do something like that, especially on opening day,” he said Friday.

Garth said he was recording a video in the hallway near the entrance of the new pool when it happened.

“I just went to put my phone in the locker and I see these guys come in and then the (bear) spray and it was like panic,” he said.

Garth said he felt an extreme burning sensation in his eyes as soon as they came into contact with the bear spray.

“As soon as I took in a breath, (I) could feel it enter (my) lungs,” he said. “It was just very painful. (There was) discomfort … It was just kind of instant panic feeling.”

The bear spray left Garth temporarily blinded, so he needed to be guided by lifeguards and first-aid personnel, he said.

“I was just trying to get out of that situation and listening to the kids screaming and — yeah, it was awful,” he said.

Fortunately, Garth said he was able to get out rather quickly.

“I couldn’t see, then I noticed I was on the grass,” he added. “They had first-aid people there, so they were rinsing my eyes out under the shower and with some other stuff.”

When he was able to open his eyes, Garth said he saw people scrambling to get out of the water and onto the grass.

“They were trying to get out as (quickly) as possible. I don’t think anybody knew exactly what was going on,” he said. “It was very chaotic.”

Garth said the staff did a really good job getting people to calm down while they got them to safety.

It took a couple of hours for Garth to fully recover, he said.

Regina police said “upwards of 200 patrons” were affected by the incident. Police are continuing their search for suspects.