International students assaulted with bear spray

VERNON – Three Asian students were bear sprayed and taunted with ethnic slurs near a Vernon high school on the weekend.

They were assaulted by a group of teenagers near Fulton Secondary around 10 p.m. on Saturday.

The boys were walking home from the Landing Plaza when they were confronted on the trail behind Fulton Secondary.

“They were pepper sprayed, however they were able to make it home where they were treated by emergency personnel,” RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says. “There were some slurs being passed back and forth as well.”

Officers used a police dog to track the suspects, but the trail went cold around 16 Avenue.

Police believe the same four suspects had approached a vehicle earlier in the day, in the same location, and confronted the driver with bear spray and possibly a knife.

Anyone with information that could help investigors are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or the Vernon RCMP Detachment at 250-545-7171.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call 250-309-5230.