By Dominic Abassi

Teen arrested after stabbing at Nanaimo’s tent city

Jul 5, 2018 | 12:17 PM

NANAIMO — A teen is facing charges and a man is recovering from life-threatening injuries after a stabbing inside Nanaimo’s downtown tent city.

Nanaimo RCMP Cst. Gary O’Brien said they were called to the homeless camp, dubbed Discontent City, at 1 Port Dr. around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. He said officers found a “severely injured” 27-year-old man outside the camp and an 18-year-old suspect was arrested nearby.

O’Brien said the altercation and stabbing happened inside tent city. A witness told NanaimoNewsNOW the victim was found near the Salvation Army’s New Hope Centre and a trail of blood could be seen directly outside the gates of the camp.

A pair of Mounties blocked anyone from entering the camp for about an hour after the incident.

The alleged attacker is expected to appear in court on Thursday to face a charge of aggravated assault.

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It’s the latest incident for the camp, which was established in mid-May. Since then, the population has grown to more than 140 tents and about 200 residents. A court hearing is scheduled for the week of July 16 for a judge to decide on the City’s request for a court-ordered injunction to remove the camp.

Last week, a women died of an overdose in one of the tents, the City reported a fire inside a tent and a woman was reportedly shot in the face with a BB gun. There have also been reports of citizens exercising vigilante justice after allegedly finding their stolen belongings inside the fences of the camp.

“It’s certainly requiring a lot of resources on our part to keep a handle on things,” O’Brien said. “We are getting called on a daily basis for theft, disturbances and drug use. We expected that.”

Organizers posted on Discontent City’s Facebook page on Thursday afternoon, addressing “a few issues at the camp recently.”

The post said the camp is run by an elected council who deal with issues of violence and theft by asking disruptive people to leave. It accused RCMP of refusing to assist organizers in removing those who won’t leave or keep coming back.

“So we are caught between a rock and a hard place: we try to establish rules and structure but are forced to take in people who refuse to follow the rules,” the post said. “We are forced to deal with some (of the) hardest mental health cases in the city with NO help or intervention from professionals or authorities and then we are forced take responsibility for the actions of those who are not residents, on top of taking public blame and heat for the actions of all homeless in Nanaimo.”

O’Brien was asked about the claim RCMP won’t help remove undesirables from the camp.

“We go to calls where there’s a call for service and we have to determine the level of urgency. If we don’t feel it’s legitimate then there won’t be police attendance,” he said.

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi