Saint John police are trying to determine whether three separate assaults involving chemical irritant may be connected.
The first incident happened shortly after 10:30 p.m. Saturday and involved a Saint John Transit driver.
Police said the driver dropped off three teens — two women and a man — on King Street uptown.
“After exiting the front of the bus, the male sprayed a chemical irritant into the bus,” police said in a news release Wednesday.
Paramedics treated the driver at the scene and no other physical injuries were reported. The suspects fled the scene on foot and have not yet been located.
One was wearing a red hoodie, blue pants, and a backpack, another had long curly hair, and the other was wearing their hair up in a bun.
The other two incidents took place within about an hour of one another on Tuesday evening, according to police.
Around 7:10 p.m., officers were called to Technology Drive after a 13-year-old was allegedly robbed and sprayed with a chemical irritant while walking.
Police said the victim was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
“The suspect vehicle was described as a dark-coloured vehicle and the victim heard a female voice before being assaulted,” police said in a news release.
Then at around 8:10 p.m., police were called to Princess Elizabeth School on Sixth Street after a 52-year-old taxi driver was sprayed with a chemical irritant.
The driver reportedly picked up a man and a woman at a grocery store on Somerset Street and drove them to the school parking lot.
“When they exited the vehicle, the male sprayed the driver with a chemical irritant and fled on foot,” said the release.
The taxi driver was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The first suspect is described as a Caucasian man in his late teens with an average build and dark hair.
He was wearing a matching brown and white tracksuit with the hood up, white and black Nike sneakers, and a white flat-beak ball cap.
The second suspect is described as a Caucasian woman in her mid to late teens with an average build and blonde hair.
She was wearing grey sweatpants, a maroon Harvard University hoodie, and black headphones or earmuffs.
“Detectives are exploring the possibility that these incidents may be connected,” said police.
Anyone who witnessed the incidents or may have video footage is asked to contact the Saint John Police Force at 506-648-3333 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
