FILE PHOTO - A homeless camp in Vernon is pictured in this June 2019 photo. A homeless man accused of shooting a Vancouver Island vigilante had his charges dropped after the BC Prosecution Service found there wasn't enough evidence to convict him.

(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

A homeless man accused of shooting a Vancouver Island vigilante had his charges dropped after the BC Prosecution Service found there wasn't enough evidence to convict him.

Clint Smith was shot after he and six others ventured into a Nanaimo homeless encampment in March to retrieve what they believed to be items stolen from a local business owner.

Smith was covered in protective gear, including a slash-proof vest. Others in the group were also wearing protective gear and some had weapons, according to a prosecution service news release issued today, July 19.

On March 12, they went to the encampment around 3:30 p.m., and the confrontation quickly escalated.

Some of the residents fled into their tents as the vigilantes tried to retrieve items from the camp. One man emerged with a .22 calibre rifle and another with a paintball gun.

The altercation then moved from the encampment to a nearby parking lot, where a bystander recorded the fighting on a cell phone.

The video showed the accused pointing the .22 calibre rifle while Smith struck another man over the head with a collapsible baton.

"At some point, the (Smith) was shot, once, in the abdomen. Another bullet struck the front grill of his truck, which was parked nearby," the news release reads. Smith was released from hospital with a bullet still in his abdomen.

Crown found the confrontation was "unprovoked and unannounced" as seven men descended upon the encampment. At some point, the seven men stopped cooperating with police during the investigation.

"The accused and (another camper) were legally entitled to defend themselves from the continuing attack," the news release reads. "The only question is whether the force used by the accused was objectively proportionate in the circumstances."

The Crown concluded it could not disprove the homeless man was acting in self-defence and stayed the charge of pointing a firearm. His identity has not been released and is protected under a court ordered publication ban.

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