Daily BrewB.C. woman’s bachelorette party turns bloody as bride cut, bruised in mystery brawl
Stagettes are a relatively recent phenomenon, the counterpoint to the traditional male ritual of one last blowout before marriage supposedly hobbles you forever.
Bride-to-be Alysha Thompson and her friends went to Vancouver's Bar None nightclub last Saturday night, presumably to swap stories over strangely-coloured cocktails and maybe dance a little.
But when the evening was over, the Mission, B.C., photographer was in hospital getting cuts to her head, arm and leg stitched up after an apparent altercation. Just what happened and why now is the subject of a police investigation.
The Vancouver Province reported that Thompson, whose wedding is in three weeks, claimed she was attacked without provocation by a waitress. But police suggest there was more to it than that.
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In a post on the Facebook page of fellow photographer Lisa Marie, Thompson said she was "viciously attacked" "for no reason at all."
"I had not made eye contact nor spoke one word to her when she grabbed me from behind and threw me across a table and brutally attacked me leaving me with a concussion, cuts and bruises all over my body oh and not to mention the nice stitches across my forehead!!" Thompson wrote in the post, which included purported photos of her injuries.
"I was then dragged [and I mean literally dragged] out of the club by bouncers with blood gushing out of my head as if I was some punk starting fights and they acted as if what the girl had done was no big deal."
The post had been shared almost 3,800 times by Tuesday afternoon and attracted hundreds of comments.
The Province tried unsuccessfully to interview Thompson, who said in the comment thread that she believed the head wound was sustained when the waitress "smashed my face off the table."
Vancouver police said in a news release they were called to Bar None, which describes itself as the "epicentre of nightlife" in downtown Vancouver's trendy Yaletown district, at around 11:45 p.m. Saturday night to find Thompson suffering from cuts to her head and leg.
Police said the altercation involved two different groups of people and investigators would be reviewing video from inside the club to establish exactly what happened. It's also appealing for witness to come forward.
“We do know that there was another group involved, other than the victim and bar staff,” police spokesman Randy Fincham said. “It is important that these people come forward and tell their side of the story.”
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Pat Stollen, spokesman for Bar None owners the Donnelly Group, said it's taking the incident "very seriously," but added the police's review of the security video found no evident wrongdoing.
"They have reviewed footage from the evening and have decided that no charges should be laid against either party," Stollen said in statement reported by CBC News.
"Our patrons' safety is our first priority and we are continuing to review this issue with staff who were present that evening."
