At least two people ended up in hospital last Saturday night (May 22) after a group of young men allegedly used hockey sticks to attack skateboarders staying at a private campground in Pender Harbour.
About 75 people, in town for the longboarding competition at Pender's May Day celebrations, were sleeping or socializing at the campground when a group of five to 15 Sunshine Coast locals launched the attack in the early hours of May 23.
Bricin Lyons, who organized the longboarding event, said he phoned police when threatening intruders showed up in a truck and refused to leave. But about 10 minutes later, before police could arrive, "sticks came out of the truck and they were hitting everyone," said Lyons.
"It didn't seem real," said Lyons, who saw at least 12 people bleeding from their injuries, including his father. "Guys running away would get clipped on the back of the head. There was blood everywhere and girls screaming People were tripping and falling and climbing under cars."
Lyons said the attack seemed planned.
"A week back I heard rumours that Gibsons guys were coming up to fight, but I thought it was just a rumour," he said. "When they came in they were very organized. That's what caught everyone off guard. They marched around together with sticks They were jacked on something, I don't know what."
The incident generated outrage among the skateboarding community. On the website www.coastlongboarding.com, the message board was buzzing with chatter about the mayhem as skaters compared injuries and sounded off against the "knuckleheads," "coked-out locals" and "hicks with sticks."
"Striker had some nasty head trauma there, blood flowing from his ear, smashed with something," wrote one skater. "Apparently they were hitting everything from dogs to girls to people passed out in their tents brutal."
Others were concerned the violence might overshadow the longboarding event or force its cancellation next year.
"Otherwise great weekend, phenomenal riding and from a spectator's point of view an excellent event," wrote a skater who couldn't race Sunday after suffering a broken rib and "kicked-in head."
Lyons said after police and ambulance crews finished their work, everyone worked hard to keep a positive attitude and put on a good race the next day.
"I had to focus on getting the race together and putting on a show," he said. "I'm trying to create something positive for youth and everyone I don't know why they would do it. I think they're jealous because this race is the biggest thing on the Coast."
Police described the attacks as "cowardly" and "vicious," saying the attackers singled out some victims and randomly attacked others.
Sunshine Coast RCMP Staff/Sgt. Brad Zalys said the investigation so far indicates the attackers were "just out for trouble" and "probably under the influence of some substance."
Two of the campers were taken to St. Mary's Hospital with head lacerations, and many others were treated at the site by ambulance crews. Some of the victims were women.
About five suspects from the Gibsons area have been identified, including several who were caught fleeing the scene. At press time there were no arrests, and police were busy taking statements from dozens of witnesses.
Zalys encouraged witnesses to talk to police.
"These people [the suspects] are known to us for this kind of thing, looking for trouble and picking fights," said Zalys. "These people can't be allowed to think they can just get off scot-free with this."
The long weekend was a busy one for police. On Sunday night the punk rock concert and wrap-up awards night in Pender Harbour "got out of control," according to Const. Chris Pillsworth, and police got many calls to deal with noisy, drunken parties throughout the Coast during the weekend.
