13-YEAR-OLD IN ORILLIA CHARGED AFTER CELLPHONE CALLER FALSELY REPORTS FIRE, SHOOTING
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
ORILLIA — A mischievous teen was charged yesterday after emergency services responded en masse to repeated 911 call about a structure fire and a “a 13-year-old female who had been shot and was lying in the middle of the street bleeding.”
Police continue to investigate the incident involving a youth making several 911 calls Wednesday February 5 at approximately 5:25 p.m.
OPP, Orillia Fire and EMS were sent to Front Street South for a report of a structure fire.
Firefighters and paramedics scanned the area, but were unable to find a fire.
They asked police to assist in locating the caller.
At that time officers were unable to pursue any investigative avenues as the call was placed from an unregistered phone number, they say.
But at 6:30 p.m. police received a “high priority” radio call to attend the area of Elgin Street for a 13-year-old female who had been shot and was lying in the middle of the street bleeding.
The OPP responded immediately with a large police response of approximately 10 officers and EMS.
Again they checked the area for an extended period of time for a female victim without finding the alleged victim.
Police then received 16 more radio calls from the same voice with similar call details.
All the calls received were deemed high priority and utilized a large quantity of resources.
At 7 p.m. police observed a young person on the second floor of a residence in the reported area who was seen talking on a cell phone.
Officers requested the call taker to listen for a siren, which was then activated by police and heard by an OPP call centre operator.
As a result, officers were able to locate a young person in possession of a cell phone, which was seized as evidence.
On further investigation, police confirmed all the calls came from the same device.
Subsequently a 13-year-old was arrested and charged with the following:
- YPC Theft Under $5,000
- YPC Public Mischief
- YPC Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5,000 – in Canada.
The teen was released to their parents with a future court date.
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