Questions are being raised about the availability of stun guns to the general public after a brutal beating involving a Taser at a Gatineau hotel room put one man in a coma early Sunday morning.
"Here at the Gatineau police, we are afraid about that because we don't want to see people in possession of prohibited arms. We cannot have this, so we take this very seriously," said Const. Isabelle Poirier of the Gatineau police.
Although it's illegal to purchase or sell a stun gun in Canada, a simple search on Google or EBay shows many of the devices available to online buyers from sellers outside the country.
While many of those postings have shipping restrictions to Canada, one source told CTV Ottawa it was "very easy to buy a stun gun off EBay."
Several injured in hotel room attack
The heightened concern over the availability of stun guns comes after two fighters and a promoter of Saturday's mixed martial arts Freedom Fight were brutally attacked and robbed during an after-party at a Best Western hotel on Laurier Street in Gatineau at about 4 a.m. Sunday.
Police say the attack happened when a member of the group answered a knock at the door and nine men came into the hotel room, hitting one of the fighters on the head with a bottle and Tasering another who remained in a coma until just before the noon hour on Monday.
"The first one was unconscious but right now he woke up - he's okay. We're not afraid for his life, but he is still at the hospital," said Poirier.
The fight promoter and four others also suffered minor injuries in the beating. According to police, the injured men did not know their attackers.
The manager of the hotel told CTV Ottawa the incident was unfortunate and he hopes it won't cast a bad light on the sport. The hotel was in the process of handing over surveillance video to police on Monday.
Police are continuing their investigation.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Jonathan Rotondo
