Four people were taken to hospital and nine are facing charges after a landlord-tenant dispute turned into a wild brawl in Sooke.
“This was not usual for Sooke,” said Staff Sgt. Jeff McArthur, describing the scene police faced when they raced to a house on Ayre Road after receiving reports of a group fighting with bats and pipes Friday afternoon.
“I know the officers were scrambling to make sense out of what had happened. There were quite a few injured people, weapons and everything all over. Eventually, they sorted it out. But we’re still investigating, still trying to make sense of it.”
When police officers arrived just after 5 p.m., the group started to disperse. The combatants were well prepared for a fight.
Officers found bear spray, a steel pipe, baseball bat, brass knuckles, handcuffs, knives, axes and a hammer. Two vehicles at the scene had broken windshields and were badly damaged. One pickup had a child’s chair stuck in its smashed windshield.
Ten people, seven men and three women, all Sooke residents, were involved, said McArthur. Four people were taken to hospital with injuries. Several people were suffering from the effects of bear spray.
Police believe a new tenant had shown up at the property on Ayre Road with his friends in an attempt to convince the people living there to leave.
“Investigators are working to piece together the sequence of events in this violent altercation,” said McArthur. “I don’t know what the issue is that started this off. But it started off and the landlord had a new renter and an agreement and things went bad.”
Charges against the nine people are expected to be forwarded for approval to Crown counsel. The charges being considered are assault, assault causing bodily harm, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, mischief, possession of a weapon and possession of a prohibited weapon.
If you have information about this incident, contact the Sooke RCMP. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-222-8477, online at solvecrime.ca or text BCTIP and your message to CRIMES (274637).
