'There were families on the ground and people were crying': Ex-goer describes bear spray attack

Bear spray incidents at the Saskatoon Ex have prompted Prairieland Park to look at beefing up security measures at the gates.

Mace was deployed in three separate incidents during the annual fair and it’s causing organizers and fair goers to re-evaluate the event which sees thousands of adults and children attend.

Roderick Daniels was at the grandstand with his family watching the Trooper concert Saturday night. The moment he realized bear spray was being released, he grabbed his 11-month-old son and ran.

“This is the most scared I’ve been as a parent. I cried a few times. I never want to experience this again,” Daniels told CTV News.

“I was running out of there. My baby was puking and foaming at the mouth, so that’s where I went into panic mode, he said.

Daniels says his son seemed to be back to normal health two days later.

He posted a Tik Tok video after the event expressing his anger at the random attack.

“There were families on the ground and people were crying. I saw six or seven children getting washed with milk, juice or water,” he says.

Daniels would like to see increased security at the fair to make it safer.

Saskatoon police want people to know the severity of using bear spray.

“It’s considered a weapon so anything that can be done to reduce the chance of getting something like this inside is a good thing,” Alyson Edwards with the Saskatoon Police Service told CTV News.

Prairieland Park released this statement earlier Monday:

"This is a new challenge for the fair industry as a whole, and in the future, we will be looking to technology to assist us. Prairieland is already researching body scanners and metal detectors to be used at large-scale public events on the park," the statement read. 

"Given the nature of this incident, police are confident they’ll find those responsible. “We are fortunate, we have witnesses and the can of bear spray we believe was involved so our investigators have evidence to work with,” Edwards said.

Officers were already on scene and responded along with Medavie Health Services. Troy Davies says they used specially designed medical wipes on the pepper spray victims and not water.

“It kept our paramedics extremely busy this week. It’s the first time we’ve seen it at the Ex since we’ve been involved since 1999 that I can think of,” Davies said.

Davies says 50 people were treated on site for injuries like burns to their eyes and skin.

Prairieland Park confirmed this year’s event saw a total attendance of almost 226,000.

As for Daniels and his young son, he won’t let this incident prevent him from attending again, but says he’ll be on his guard next time.