Police said the victim was bear sprayed and their cell phone was stolen. (Tracey Tufnail/650 CKOM)

Two women facing charges after robbery victim bear sprayed in Regina

By CJME News May 1, 2025 | 1:30 PM

Two women are facing robbery charges after a victim was bear sprayed and robbed in Regina on Wednesday.According to police, officers were called to the 1800 block of St. John Street in the city’s downtown neighbourhood at around 11 a.m. for a reported robbery. According to police, the caller said the victim had been bear sprayed and their cell phone was stolen.

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“Police arrived on scene and located two females who matched the suspect descriptions. They were arrested without incident,” the Regina Police Service explained in a statement.

“A search of the suspects revealed a canister of bear spray and the stolen item.”

The two women – ages 21 and 22 – are each facing a robbery charge. The older woman is also charged with carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a weapon and failing to comply with a probation order.

Both women appeared in court on Thursday, police said.

What is bear spray?

Bear spray is a deterrent containing capsaicin, a chemical found in chili peppers. The canister releases a cone-shaped cloud of spray at a speed of over 100 km/h, approximately 10 m away. Capsaicin inflames the eyes and respiratory system of both animals and humans.

According to bearwise.org, the spray is oil-based, so first aid for the bear spray is to wash off the residue with soap and water, don’t rub your eyes or nose, and rinse your eyes with clean water until the irritation subsides. The effects generally wear off in about 45 minutes, the bear awareness site says.

Late last year, the provincial government announced new regulations aiming to reduce the number of criminal incidents involving bear spray.

The changes include regulations to restrict the possession of bear spray in public urban spaces and a ban on altering bear spray to hide or disguise the product’s identity. Anyone charged under the new regulations could face fines of up to $100,000.

According to the provincial government, police in Saskatchewan have responded to over 3,000 bear spray incidents over the last five years, but the total number of incidents involving bear spray could be much higher when factoring in unreported cases.