POLICE AND COURTS
News
Posted 2 months ago
Youth arrested following air gun incident at Valleyview School
Jon Thompson
for The Enterprise
Kenora OPP took a 15-year-old into custody on Monday at 2:30 p.m. for climbing on the roof of Valleyview school with what looked like an assault rifle.
Police secured the area and notified residents to stay in their homes before determining the weapon was a soft air gun.
No shots were fired and the situation "was concluded without incident." Upon apprehension, the youth took the police into the wooded area behind the school where three other soft air guns were hidden, one of which had a bipod mount.
"When he heard all the sirens coming, he decided they were coming for him and maybe this wasn't a good idea," said provincial constable, David Cain. "I don't know what was in his mind, obviously, but fortunately, he came down and was scared of what he had done."
The youth's name can not be released due to protection provided under the Youth Criminal Justice Act and Cain said although the investigation is continuing, no charges have yet been laid.
He called on parents to educate children who own realistic-looking air weapons of safe traveling strategies as to not alarm the public.
"These paint ball guns and these types of rifles are manufactured to look like the real thing," he explained. "There's no way that (an officer) called to such a call as this will know if it's real or whether it's fake. Kids need to pack them into pack-sacs so that we don't get panic on the streets. We can see from (Monday) what can occur."
