Bear spray released inside two Yellowknife buildings, one person charged

An RCMP patrol vehicle. (CKLB file photo.)

Yellowknife RCMP say they’ve recently investigated two unrelated incidents involving a noxious substance, believed to be bear spray, and have made one arrest

RCMP stated in a news release that at approximately 8:15 PM, Friday, police received a complaint unrelated to the noxious substance, at an apartment building on Gitzel Street.

Upon entering the building, RCMP members detected the odour of what was believed to be bear spray in the first floor stairwell.

The Fire Department was called in to assist in decontaminating the building.

It was evacuated as precaution.

No residents needed medical treatment.

No suspect has been arrested in this incident and the investigation is closed, police state.

Then at about 1:00 PM on Saturday, police were called after alleged assault in the area of Sissons Court.

Two victims were allegedly sprayed with bear spray in their residence.

Paramedics were already on site when police arrived, providing treatment for non-life threatening injuries to both victims, Mounties stated.

A male suspect was later arrested without incident in connection to this incident.

Chris Kaminesky, 35, is charged with:

Two counts of Assault with a weapon
Breaking and Entering with intent
Possession of weapon for dangerous purpose

Police have not said where he is from or whether he is still in custody.

Anyone with information on these incidents is asked to call Yellowknife RCMP at 669-1111, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 nwtnutips.com, (click on “submit a web tip”) or text: “nwtnutips” plus your message to 274637.

About the Author

John McFadden
John has been in the broadcast journalism industry since the 1980s. He has been a reporter in Yellowknife since 2012 and joined CKLB in January of 2018. John covers the crime and court beat as well as reporting on other areas including politics, business, entertainment and sports. He won seven national community newspaper awards while he was a journalist with Northern News Services Limited (NNSL). John worked in Ontario before coming North including stints as a TV sportscaster in Peterborough and senior news writer for CBC and CTV in downtown Toronto.